Posted on November 9, 2026
In November, the northeast monsoon brings some of the year’s heaviest rainfall to Chennai. The city’s canals need to carry away large amounts of water, but silt, rubbish and thick mats of water hyacinth can block the flow and cause flooding.
To prevent this, Chennai’s city government – Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) – works throughout the year to keep the city’s many canals clear and ready for the rains. It owns two Watermasters for heavy-duty cleaning and dredging. In this photo, one of them is raking water hyacinth out of a canal.
Previously, GCC used excavators on floating barges. Amphibious Watermasters offer a safer, more agile and versatile solution. They can remove blockages from shallow, narrow canals where other machines struggle. Each Watermaster can do suction dredging, excavating and raking, helping GCC carry out its waterway maintenance work with fewer machines and lower costs.
Besides reducing flood risk, removing polluted sediment, rubbish and vegetation makes the waterways cleaner and their surroundings more pleasant for local residents. Better water flow also means fewer stagnant areas where disease-carrying mosquitoes would otherwise breed.
Link to the case story – https://watermaster.fi/case-examples/cleaning-chennais-waterways/
