Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh is likely to be released in one or two days to fulfill the drinking water needs of the city.
The Kandaleru reservoir, the body that provides water to Chennai, now has storage of 35 thousand million cubic feet (tmc).
Officials of the Water Resources Department said nearly 800 cusecs (cubic feet per second) was being expected at the entry point of the Kandaleru-Poondi (KP) Canal at Uthukottai, Tiruvallur.
Issues related to Krishna water discharge were discussed at a permanent technical committee meeting between officials of both States held last month. The Andhra Pradesh authorities said they would provide water once the reservoir’s storage touched 30 tmc. According to the agreement, about 8 tmc has to be given between July and October.
Water discharged from the reservoir upstream is expected to reach K.P. Canal in three days. “We have asked nearly 4 tmc to be discharged in two months and expect to receive 2 tmc every month. If 800 cusecs is realised daily, we may be able to receive the maximum quantity,” an official said.
Water from Andhra Pradesh will help boost the storage in the four city reservoirs, which currently stand at 3.9 tmc against their total capacity of 11.2 tmc.
At present, Metrowater is supplying about 700 million litres of water on alternate days. “We plan to seek more water depending on the performance of the northeast monsoon and inflow into the city’s reservoirs in November,” the official added.
Both States are considering various measures to transmit more water through the K.P. Canal. Proposals under consideration include doubling the carrying capacity of the canal to 2,000 cusecs from the stretch in Andhra Pradesh.
The stretch of the canal in Tamil Nadu limits will also be improved simultaneously. Proposals such as laying additional pipelines to the Poondi reservoir were also under scrutiny, officials added.