| There is
a strong influence of river basin drainage along the east coast of our state.
The 974 km stretch of coast is dissected by two major river systems, Krishna
and Godavari. Unlike Tamil Nadu and Orissa, our state has 36 rivers discharging
2737 tmc of water into the ocean system. The enormous freshwater runoff
and sediment discharge from these rivers, contributed to the flourishing
of extensive mangrove forests along the coast, while inhibiting the development
of coral reefs and other hard substrata communities such as those found
along the Indian Ocean. However, major engineering works, from hydroelectric
dams to impoundments for irrigation and flood control have significantly
altered the hydrology and sediment flow of these rivers, creating considerable
downstream impacts. Among the 36 rivers, the most important are Godavari,
Krishna, Pennar and Vamsadhara. These rivers take their origin in the neighbouring
state of Maharashtra and Karnataka and find their way into the Bay of Bengal,
after traversing through our state. Several other smaller rivers like the
Vamsadhara, the Tungabhadra and Nagavali etc., rise in the eastern - ghats
and pass through a narrow coastal strip before falling into the Bay of Bengal.
All the rivers put together contribute about 46% of the total water potential
of tides. |