Water Resource

Kannur district is endowed with a fine river system. Except for a few minor ones, most of the rivers are perennial and provide good scope for irrigation and controlling floods through minor irrigation works.
With a length of 110 kms., the Valapattanam river, which originates from the Western Ghats, is the longest river in the district. The main tributaries of the river are Valiapuzha and Aralampuzha.
Kuppam river originates from reserve forests and has area of 539 sq.kms. The length of river is 82 kms. The other rivers in the district are Mahe (54 kms.), Anjarakandy (48 kms.), Thalassery (28 kms.), Ramapuram (19 kms.) and Perumba (51 kms.)
Most of the rivers are navigable. The Valapattanam river has the longest navigable length followed by Anjarakandy.
Because of the peculiar topography, the bulk of rain water, which is the only source of ground water recharge, escapes as run off. Only 10 per cent of the total rainfall can be considered as contributing to recharge.
It was observed that the water found in the wells was of good quality and could be used for domestic, industrial and irrigation purposes.
Preliminary studies indicate that ground water resources of the coastal sandy tract was fairly good for development, whereas, in the laterite covered areas it was very limited.