Rains secure water for next three months in Chennai

Rains enhance Chennai’s water security

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Heavy rainfall during the last two days has proved a blessing for Chennaites with dwindling water level in reservoirs soaring again and enhancing the capacity to provide adequate supply of drinking water for the next three months.

Public Works Department sources told Express that the rains had been a blessing in disguise for the reservoirs supplying water to city with its capacity expected to go up to 3.5 tmc of water following the rains predicted in the next 24 hours.

Sources also believed that the storage level of water could go up to 8 tmc following a good monsoon this season. The total storage capacity of reservoirs supplying water to the city is 11tmc.

The city gets water mainly from Poondi, Cholavaram, Chembarambakkam, Red Hills and Veeranam reservoirs.

PWD sources said that Poondi reservoir is getting 850 cusecs of water following the rains and its current capacity has increased to .6 tmc as against the capacity of 3.2 tmc.

Red Hills is getting 1,025 cusecs of water and its current level is 1.67 tmc as against the capacity of 3.3 tmc. Similarly, Chembarambakkam reservoir is getting 474 cusecs of water and its current capacity is 1.07 tmc as against 3.6 tmc total capacity.

Meanwhile, Poondi is also getting 195 cusecs of Krishna Water from the Kandaleru reservoir as such the rains have boosted the capacity of the reservoirs in the city, said PWD sources.

The sources also said that Metro Water would soon be drawing 75 cusecs of water from Veeranam to supply drinking water to the city. “Now the city has adequate water and with more rains to come the storage capacity is set to increase,” the official predicted.