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Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS) With the city’s four major reservoirs almost full, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has requested the Andhra Pradesh government to stop the release of Krishna water from the Kandaleru dam to prevent wastage.
According to WRD officials, Chennai received about 3.7 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Krishna water between July and October under the inter-state water-sharing agreement. The first round of supply was scheduled for 12 tmcft, but discharge was reduced as there was already adequate storage in local reservoirs due to good south-west monsoon rains before the north-east monsoon.
“The city had adequate storage before the onset of north-east monsoon, so only 3 tmcft of Krishna water was required,” said a senior WRD official.
An average of 300 to 400 cusecs of water was released from Kandaleru dam in four months. He said that, due to continuous local rains in recent weeks, surplus outflow has also been observed in Poondi, Red Hills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs.
“To avoid unnecessary flow and possible overflow, the discharge from Andhra Pradesh has been temporarily stopped,” the official said.
As per the bilateral agreement, the next phase of Krishna water release is expected to take place between January and April. WRD officials said the fresh request for supply would depend on rainfall patterns and reservoir levels at that time.
“If adequate storage continues, the second phase may be delayed,” he said.
At present, the city’s reservoirs are 85 per cent full, collectively holding 11 tmcft of water against the combined capacity of 13 tmcft. The storage level is considered comfortable enough to meet Chennai’s drinking water needs for the next several months, even if rainfall weakens towards the end of the season.
Following heavy rains in the catchment areas over the past few days, the WRD released water from the city’s reservoirs to maintain safe levels – 2,000 cusecs from Poondi, 709 cusecs from Red Hills, and 493 cusecs from Chembarambakkam.
Officials said the situation is being closely monitored to ensure optimal storage and safe outflow management during the ongoing northeast monsoon.
–IANS
AL/DPB