Water authorities keep Chennai reservoirs 90 per cent full anticipating another rainfall

Poondi reservoir expected to get 4,000 cusecs of water from Ammanapalli in AP

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Reservoirs in Chennai are almost filling up due to heavy rains across the state and Public Works Department sources feel the water can quench the thirst of Chennaites for the next nine months.

Highly placed PWD sources told Express that reservoirs supplying water to the city are almost filling up. Poondi, Cholavaram, Red Hills, Chembarambakkam and Veeranam are 90 per cent full.

Authorities are maintaining a buffer of 90 per cent anticipating another rainfall within 10 days. PWD sources said, “that with the next rainfall we will be maintaining the dam levels at 98 per cent.” Currently, water is being discharged from all the dams as a precautionary measure, a source added.

“If we maintain the levels full, it will be dangerous for the health of dams,” PWD sources said.

Meanwhile, the inflow of Krishna Water into Poondi has been stopped from November 14. “Till now we have received 8.05 tmc feet water from June 24 to November 14 from Krishna River,” a PWD source said.

It is believed the state is expected to receive the next installment of Krishna river water in the month of January.

Meanwhile, Poondi is expected to get 4,000 cusecs of water from Krishnapuram dam in Ammanapalli. “The dam authorities in Andhra Pradesh have released surplus water to Poondi on a trial basis. It is expected that about 4,000 cusecs of water will be released into Poondi,” a PWD source said.

“Currently, we are discharging 4,528 cusecs of water from Poondi. If we get the water from Krishnapuram we will be discharging about 6,000 cusesc of water. The reservoir is nearly full and we are maintaining level below one feet. The water is being discharged into regulator, baby canal and link canal before being discharged into Kosasthalayar River and the sea,” sources said.

Interestingly, this is the highest level of discharge of water from Poondi. Although officials maintain it is too early to give the figures but agree that this was the highest discharge by Poondi reservoir.

The discharge of water into Cooum and Adyar has cleaned up the river besides the rain have improved the groundwater situation, source said.

Meanwhile of the 89 dams across the state, a dam in Erode has reached full capacity while 13 dams are 90 to below 100 per cent full. Similarly, eight dams are have 75 per cent to less than 90 per cent water while another 24 dams have water levels above 50 to 75 per cent. There are 43 dams whose water levels are stil less than 50 per cent, said another PWD source.