Chennai is likely to receive Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh early Tuesday. Krishna water is crucial now with the city reservoirs, which supply drinking water to the city, going nearly dry.
According to officials in the Water Resources Department, Krishna water, which was released into the Kandaleru Poondi (KP) reservoir, on October 10, has travelled nearly 135 km on Monday.
“Normally, water discharged into the KP canal reaches the inter-state limit in two or three days. But this time, it is delayed by over a week as the canal bed has been dry for a few months now,” said an official.
Awet bed facilitates faster flowof water,while a dry one will absorb water and also impede the flow, officials explained.Water released from the reservoir will travel 152 km through the KP canal to reach Uthukottai, the entry point of the canal in Tamil Nadu. The authorities in Andhra Pradesh have increased the rate of water from the reservoir from the initial 200 cubic feet per second (cusecs) to 500 cusecs.
Water discharge to the city will be stepped up gradually, sources added.
From Uthukottai, the water will have to travel another 25 km to reach the Poondi reservoir, where it will be stored and distributed in different parts of the city.
At 15 per cent capacity
At present, the city’s four reservoirs hold only 15 per cent of total capacity, which is only enough for supply for a little over a month. Many households are already complaining of a marginal dip in the piped-water supply.
“Krishna water will help replenish the reservoirs and augment water supply until northeast monsoon activity picks up in the region,” an official said. The water is expected to reach Poondi reservoirin 15 hours from Uthukottai. With repair works completed in the KP canal in TamilNadu, officials are confident that maximum volume of water will flow into the reservoir without much seepage loss.
