A view of the Poondi Reservoir, which, along with the Chembarambakkam reservoir, has a storage of nearly 6,552 mcft.
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
Krishna water inflow, which is currently trickling into the State, is expected to pick up in the next few days and help augment declining storage in Chennai’s reservoirs and meet drinking water demand.
The supply from Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh, which was suspended for the maintenance of the KP canal in March, resumed two days ago. However, the State’s entry point of the KP canal in Uthukottai of Tiruvallur district is receiving only a marginal inflow of 70 cubic feet per second (cusecs).
Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) said the release of Krishna water followed a recent request from the Tamil Nadu WRD. Chennai must be provided about 4,000 million cubic feet of water for the second spell as part of the inter-State agreement between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, under the Krishna Water Supply Project.
Currently, the five major reservoirs, including Chembarambakkam and Poondi, have a combined storage of nearly 6,552 mcft, which is nearly 56% of its total capacity. Veeranam tank in Cuddalore district also augments the drinking water supply.
“We have sufficient storage to sustain daily water supply till the onset of the northeast monsoon that helps fill the reservoirs. We sought Krishna water inflow to improve the dipping storage,” an official said.
Krishna water is also used for drinking water and irrigation needs en route, including Tirupati and Kalahasti, before reaching Chennai.
‘Monitoring inflow’
“The Andhra Pradesh authorities have assured us that the inflow will be improved to a minimum of 400 cusecs in three or four days to increase the city reservoirs’ storage. We are also monitoring the inflow,” an official said.
Chennai received nearly 4,903 mcft of Krishna water between July and October last year and February 25 and March 29 this year.
The department has also completed a portion of the improvement works of KP canal falling in its jurisdiction and minor canals that transfer water between major reservoirs.
Published – May 31, 2026 12:07 am IST
