Chennai's Water Supply Gets A Push: Krishna Flow Rising, Canal Network Being Restored

With Krishna water supply from Andhra Pradesh improving steadily this week, storage levels in Chennai’s reservoirs are seeing a promising rise.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) has initiated canal clearing works ahead of schedule to aid smoother inter-reservoir water transfer.

The Kandaleru-Poondi Canal received nearly 460 cusecs of Krishna water on Thursday (26 June), reported The Hindu.

This water travels about 25 km before reaching Poondi reservoir, a key drinking water source for Chennai.

“We expect the amount of Krishna water received at Poondi reservoir to go up to 550-600 cusecs in the next few days. Andhra Pradesh authorities have assured us that they would increase discharge from Kandaleru reservoir, and provide water continuously to Chennai this year,” an official was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

A consistent supply from Krishna has boosted the city's reservoir storage by around 1,000 million cubic feet (mcft) over the past month. This inter-state inflow is crucial to maintaining Chennai’s daily water supply of 1,108 million litres, largely supported by five reservoirs.

Currently, 58 per cent of the total reservoir storage capacity is filled.

WRD has paused water transfer from Poondi to other reservoirs to maximise its storage levels.

Work to remove vegetation, and restore the eroded banks of feeder and link canals is underway to improve flow to Chembarambakkam and Red Hills.

The WRD has also written to the Andhra Pradesh government, seeking accounts for Rs 153 crore declared as pending payment towards Krishna water supply project and maintenance cost.

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