Chennai reservoirs reach 70% capacity before Northeast monsoon

CHENNAI: Chennai reservoirs have over 70 per cent water storage, thanks to the unseasonal rain which substantially increased water level in the catchment.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) said unlike previous years, the reservoirs are almost full with good storage capacity before the Northeast monsoon.

"During the last monsoon season we received a copious amount of rainfall and the reservoirs have almost full capacity of water. Subsequently the State has requested Andhra Pradesh government to delay the release of Krishna water this year. In previous years, the reservoirs did not have sufficient water storage after the summer, " said a senior WRD official.

He added that due to unseasonal rain from March and the Southwest monsoon in Kerala Chennai received heavy showers. Even though there is more rain in the catchment in the coming days, the waterbodies will be able to store additional water.

Commenting on the surplus discharge of water from the reservoirs, the official stated that based on the inflow in the dams the water will be released accordingly. However, to prevent inundation in the low lying areas the department is working on the flood mitigation work across the city.

During the Southwest monsoon, from June 1 - August 5, Chennai received 259.9 mm rainfall against the 193 mm normal rainfall. The reservoir has 70 percent storage capacity, of which major waterbodies such as Poondi with 50 per cent, Red hills and Chembarambakkam have over 85 per cent of water.

Currently, Red Hills reservoir has 2.968 TMC against 3.300 TMC, Chembarambakkam reservoir's present storage is 3.168 TMC, Poondi reservoir currently have 1.255 TMC, and water storage in Kannankottai Thervoy Kandigai reservoir is full with 0.500 TMC.