Ennore Creek

13°14′10″N 80°19′00″E / 13.23611°N 80.31667°E / 13.23611; 80.31667

Sunset over the Ennore creek

Ennore Creek is a backwater located in Ennore, Chennai along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in the zone comprising lagoons with salt marshes and backwaters, submerged under water during high tide and forming an arm of the sea with the opening to the Bay of Bengal at the creek. The zone is spread over 4 km2,[1] and the creek covers an area of 2.25 km2.[2] It is located 20 km north of the city centre and 2.6 km south of the Ennore Port; the creek area stretches 3 km into the sea and 5 km along the coast. The creek is nearly 400 m wide, elongated in northeast–southwest direction and merges with the backwater bodies. Once a flourishing mangrove swamp, the creek has been degraded to patches in the fringes mainly due to human activities in the region. The depth of the creek varies between 1 and 2 m and is shallow near the mouth. The north–south trending channels of the creek connect it with the Pulicat Lake to the north and with the distributaries of the Kosasthalaiyar River in the south. The northwestern part of the creek merges with the tidal flats. The soil in the region is loamy and alluvial. Most of the area consists of tracts of alluvial soil and the eastern region comprises beach dunes, tidal flats and creek. The creek is oriented from west to east and opens into the Bay of Bengal to the east at Ennore. The creek acts as an outlet for the excess water from the Poondi reservoir. The creek separates the town of Ennore from the Ennore Port located in the north and the Kattupalli Shipyard located further north. The North Chennai Thermal Power Station is located to the north of the creek and the Ennore Thermal Power Station is located to the south. The creek is part of the Pulicat water system, including the Pulicat lagoon and the Buckingham Canal. As per the 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone notification, the entire Pulicat water system is designated CRZ I.[3] The creek is experiencing siltation due to emergence of the Ennore Port.

  1. ^ National Institute of Ocean Technology (June 2004). "Waste Load Allocation & Waster Assimilative Capacity Studies for Ennore Creek & North Chennai Coastal Waters" (PDF). Department of Ocean Development (Under the Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management Program). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ "The impact of water pollution on the socio-economic status of the stakeholders of Ennore Creek, Bay of Bengal (India): Part I" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  3. ^ Krishnakumar, Asha (10–23 June 2000), "Pulicat in peril", Frontline, vol. 17, no. 12, archived from the original on 8 July 2012, retrieved 14 August 2016