Cooum

        The Cooum river is a drainage course originating near  Sattarai  in Tiruvallur  Taluk, Chengai-MGR District.  It  collects  the surplus  waters  from 75 tanks of the Cooum group, which  have  a total catchment area of 138 Sq. kms. The total length of the river is 65 km.

Due  to the diversion into Chembarambakkam, there is  very  little flow in the Cooum as it approaches the Madras City.  The river  takes a meandering course west to east for about 16 km within the  city.  It  receives  a good  deal of the urban drainage  as  it  travels along  major areas of the city such  as Arumbakkam,  Aminjikarai, Chetput, Egmore, Pudupet,  Chindadripet, and Island Grounds.   It finally joins the Bay of Bengal near Napier bridge.  The Cooum is also  connected  with  the north  Buckingham  canal  through  the Stanley duct.