Coimbatore Corporation plans to develop ponds across the city to store rainwater and recharge groundwater, beginning with a pond in Saravanampatti that is being deepened for the purpose, Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja said on Friday.

At a consultative meeting with representatives of non-governmental organisations and voluntary organisations on rainwater harvesting, he said similar works would be taken up in other ponds across the city in phases.

Mr. Ravi Teja said the Corporation had inspected 1,58,355 buildings across its 100 wards to assess rainwater harvesting systems. Officials were preparing to issue notices to 80,293 buildings where the systems were non-functional or required repairs. The Corporation was also taking steps to involve schoolchildren in rainwater harvesting awareness, he said.

Representatives of voluntary organisations urged the Corporation to maintain records of areas affected by rainfall and those that escaped inundation. Such data would help officials plan remedial measures and ensure continuity when officers were transferred, they said.

They also called for regular inspections to ensure that treatment facilities around the city, including those associated with Valankulam, were functioning properly. They alleged that about 500 of the 1,300 palm saplings planted along the Noyyal Rajavaikkal were damaged after being covered with soil during desilting work.

According to the representatives, the Water Resources Department had identified 90 ponds in Coimbatore, several of which received sewage along with rainwater. They said a proposal had been submitted to the Corporation to fill a pond in Saravanampatti exclusively with rainwater. The initiative could benefit around 10,000 families in the surrounding areas and help recharge groundwater, they said.

The representatives also urged the Corporation to hold periodic consultations with voluntary organisations throughout the year to ensure continued action on rainwater harvesting, rather than limiting such meetings to the monsoon season.