CHENNAI: As new weather system may bring more rains to the city between December 16 and 18, the total quantum of discharge from reservoirs supplying water to the city has gone up by 2,000 cusecs.
Water Resources Department (WRD) increased the discharge from Chembarambakkam reservoir from 4,500 cusecs to 6,000 cusecs as of Saturday noon, and from Puzhal lake from 500 to 1,000 cusecs.
A senior WRD official told TNIE, “The storage in the six reservoirs supplying water to Chennai stands at 10.901 tmcft, which is 82.5% of their total capacity of 13.213 tmcft. Key reservoirs like Poondi, Chembarambakkam, and Puzhal are nearly full. As there is limited space to store water from the upcoming spell of rains, we have decided to release surplus water gradually.”
The reservoirs have also been receiving significant inflows. “In the first phase, the discharge from Puzhal lake was increased to 1,000 cusecs due to the rising inflow,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the WRD has proposed to reduce the outflow from Poondi reservoir from 16,500 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs, as the inflow from its catchment area decreased to 8,750 cusecs from 10,300 cusecs at 6 am on Saturday.
The official also confirmed that the flood alert issued by the Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur district administrations remains in effect.