CHENNAI: The regular supply of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh and comfortable storage position in all major reservoirs has helped the Metro Water to sustain its supply of 1,000 MLD of water across Chennai for the past nine months after it was started for the first time in September 2021.
On Friday, the five primary reservoirs (Chembarambakkam, Poondi, Red Hills, Cholavaram and Thervoy Kandigai) that supply water to the city had a combined storage level of 7.7 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water.
The reservoirs received good inflow during Cyclone Nivar last year and due to intermittent rains after that. The combined water level of these reservoirs last year was 6.8 tmcft.
The Metro Water has been gradually increasing the supply from 800 MLD since last year. On a trial basis, the board is also supplying water to newly-added areas along the Old Mahabalipuram Road including Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Perungudi, Sholinganallur and Karapakkam.
"We have carried out repair and maintenance work to arrest leakages. In many areas, though water was being supplied, residents could not receive it due to leakages as most of the pipelines were old. We have also carried out several other projects in the newly-added areas," a Metro Water official said.
The State is expected to get five tmcft of Krishna water by August after supplies started in May. Tamil Nadu has requested the Andhra Pradesh government to continue supplying Krishna water to the city.
The Kandaleru reservoir in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, which supplies water to Chennai, had a record water level of 52.94 tmcft in April 2020 - a first since the inception of Telugu Ganga project in 1996.
The Metro Water may further increase water supply to the city but officials are worried over possible wastage. "If we give water throughout the day, people may start wasting it. We will first focus on providing water to newly-added areas and then increase supply to the city," an official said.