After experiencing water scarcity for two years, Chennai may finally get some relief as drinking water supply is likely to increase this month.
With steady inflow of water from the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh, the Water Resources Department is planning to resume withdrawal from Puzhal lake by mid-October.
Though water is primarily stored in the Poondi reservoir as of now, it will be transferred to Puzhal from where it will be sent to the Kilpauk Water Works for treatment and distribution.
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In the past one week, nearly 365 million cubic feet (mcft) has been added to Poondi’s storage.
On Friday, the Kandaleru-Poondi canal received 722 cusecs of water, according to WRD officials. This time around, the State has received up to 840 cusecs of Krishna water.
It is one of the highest inflows in recent years, WRD officials say. The recent spells of rain in Tiruvallur during September also aided in improving the reservoir’s storage. At present, the waterbody has a storage of 742 mcft against its capacity of 3,231 mcft, officials say.
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The other three reservoirs in Cholavaram, Puzhal and Chembarambakkam remain largely dry.
Officials of Metrowater say plans are on the anvil to transfer water to Puzhal once the storage in Poondi touches 1,000 mcft.
After nearly five months, water will be drawn from Puzhal. The reservoir was selected to stabilise water supply in central and northern parts of Chennai.
South Chennai sources
Though the Chembarambakkam reservoir is dry, the water supply network in south Chennai is fed by sources including the Veeranam tank and abandoned quarries in Erumaiyur.
At present, Chennai is being supplied with 525 million litres of water on alternate days. This is likely to be stepped up in a couple of weeks. However, the volume of increase will be decided depending on the storage and stable inflow into the reservoirs.
“We want to increase the piped water supply and reduce the dependence on tanker supply in the city,” an official said.