Tamil Nadu to seek Krishna water from May

CHENNAI: Though the reservoirs that supply water to Chennai are brimming, the Water Resources Department will seek release of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh, in May. Currently, the combined water storage in the five reservoirs stands at 9,337 mcft as against the total storage of 11,757 mcft.

According to officials, at least 35 mcft of water is getting evaporated daily as temperatures are rising. However, they assured that there is enough water to supply for a year and that the Krishna water would act as a reserve.

The Kandaleru reservoir in Nellore district, which augments drinking water supply to Chennai, had attained a record storage of 52.94 tmcft for the first time since the launch of the Telugu Ganga canal system in 1996. So, Chennai will receive its full quota of water from the neighboring state. Also, reservoirs in Chennai received copious amount of inflow following heavy rains due to cyclones.

The Thervoy Kandigai reservoir, which was built exclusively to store drinking water for the city and inaugurated in November, reached full capacity for the first time in October. The storage now stands at 487 mcft as against the total capacity of 500 mcft.

The storage level at Chembarambakkam, Red Hills, Cholavaram and Poondi, the four reservoirs that supply drinking water to the city, is substantially higher than on the same day in 2020. The levels stand at 3,030 mcft (Chembarambakkam), 3,032 mcft (Red Hills), 2,018 mcft (Poondi) and 770 mcft (Cholavaram).