Chennai's reservoirs 85 pc full, TN seeks halt in Krishna water release

Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS) With the city’s four major reservoirs nearly brimming, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has requested the Andhra Pradesh government to stop the release of Krishna water from the Kandaleru dam to prevent wastage.

According to WRD officials, Chennai received around 3.7 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Krishna water between July and October under the inter-state water-sharing agreement. The first spell of supply was scheduled for 12 tmcft, but the discharge was curtailed as local reservoirs already had adequate storage due to good southwest monsoon rains preceding the northeast monsoon.

“The city had sufficient storage before the onset of the northeast monsoon, so only about 3 tmcft of Krishna water was required,” said a senior WRD official.

Water was released at an average rate of 300 to 400 cusecs from the Kandaleru dam over the four months. He added that, with continuous local rains in recent weeks, Poondi, Red Hills, and Chembarambakkam reservoirs even witnessed surplus outflow.

“To avoid unnecessary inflow and possible overflow, the discharge from Andhra Pradesh has been stopped temporarily,” the official noted.

The next phase of Krishna water release, as per the bilateral agreement, is expected between January and April. WRD officials said a fresh request for supply would depend on rainfall patterns and reservoir levels at that time.

“If sufficient storage continues, the second spell may be delayed,” they said.

At present, the city’s reservoirs are 85 per cent full, collectively holding 11 tmcft of water against a combined capacity of 13 tmcft. The storage levels are considered comfortable enough to meet Chennai’s drinking water needs for the next several months, even if rainfall weakens later in the season.

Following heavy showers in the catchment areas over the past few days, the WRD released water from the city’s reservoirs to maintain safe levels -- 2,000 cusecs from Poondi, 709 cusecs from Red Hills, and 493 cusecs from Chembarambakkam.

Officials said the situation is being monitored closely to ensure optimal storage and safe outflow management during the ongoing northeast monsoon.

--IANS

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