Water level dips in Chennai reservoirs – Times of India

CHENNAI: Storage levels in key reservoirs supplying water to the city have dipped when compared to last year’s levels.
Last year, during the corresponding period the storage stood at 9,295 million cubic feet (mcft) vis-a-vis 8,746 mcft on Sunday.

PWD officials said the ongoing heat wave coupled with a reduced flow of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh have led to the dip.
A senior official said during March last year, there was copious inflow into the reservoirs because catchment areas of reservoirs received ample rain during 2020 monsoon. This apart, there was ample inflow from the Krishna river too.
This year, PWD authorities from the state had requested their Andhra Pradesh counterparts to stop the release of Krishna water since December last year. This was due to two reasons. Firstly, the reservoirs were brimming with water in January. If the water from AP continued to flow, then the surplus from the Poondi reservoir would have to be released to Red Hills, which was filled to the brim. Secondly, the PWD authorities have begun repair work in the canal that brings Krishna water from the Zero point in Oothukkottai to Poondi reservoir, the official explained.
Last year in March, Poondi reservoir had 2,387 mcft of water, and now it has 2,072 mcft; Cholavaram had 795 mcft and now it has 770 mcft; Red Hills had 3,052 mcft, and has 2,894 mcft currently. Chembarambakkam reservoir had 3,062 mcft, and has 3,010 mcft currently
The new reservoir Kannankottai Thervoykandigai had 499 mcft last year, but has 500 mcft currently, which is its full capacity.
An official said the current storage levels at the reservoirs can help quest the city’s thirst for the next nine months without any difficulty.