TN asks AP to suspend Krishna water supply from July 1

CHENNAI: The department has urged the Andhra Pradesh authorities to suspend Krishna water release temporarily as the State did not have facility to store any more water with reservoirs.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) of Tamil Nadu has written to the Andhra Pradesh government to suspend water supply of Krishna River from the Kandaleru reservoir from July 1 as two city reservoirs are filled up.

Officials said that Chennai has received nearly 2.4 tmcft. of Krishna water released from Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh since May 8. This was one of the highest quanta to be realised within a short span of time.

However, the department has urged the Andhra Pradesh authorities to suspend Krishna water release temporarily as the State did not have facility to store any more water with reservoirs in Chembarambakkam and Red Hills getting filled up, already.

Though the reservoir at Poondi has only filled nearly one-third of its capacity, the department is not keen on stepping up its storage. Also, according to the officials, the work was on to reconstruct the shutters of the reservoir that releases water to the Institute of Hydraulics and Hydrology, Poondi.

The shutter gates of the Chembarambakkam reservoir were opened last week to release water as a precautionary measure when the city received heavy rains. The department let out a small quantum of water on Monday.

The combined storage in the five reservoirs, including Cholavaram, was 8.3 tmcft, which is 71% of their capacity as on Monday. As per reports, this could sustain water supply to Chennai for eight to nine months.