CHENNAI: Krishna river water released from Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh reached Zero Point in Uthukottai on the state border around 9.30 pm on Wednesday.
A Metro Water official said the Water Resources Department (WRD) has requested the Andhra Pradesh government to release a minimum of 1 TMC, and it will be released till April. Also, there is a possibility of increasing the quantum of the release,” the official said.
Release of Krishna water is part of an agreement (Telugu Ganga Project) between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments. As per the agreement, the neighbouring state should release water from July to October, and January to April.
The official explained the water from the Zero Point will be taken to Poondi reservoir. “From Poondi, water will be diverted to Chembarambakkam and Redhills reservoirs. 1 TMC agreed to be released by Andhra Pradesh could meet drinking water needs of Chennai for one month. But, the five reservoirs that supply drinking water to the city have sufficient water, and will last till October-November,” the official said.
At the same time, the Metro Water hopes that Krishna river water will help maintain the reservoir levels. Between July and October 2025, over 3.5 TMC was released from Krishna.
At present, the five major reservoirs feeding drinking water to Chennai have a combined storage of 9,684 mcft, which is nearly 83.37% of their capacity.
As per Metro Water data, about 200 cusecs each are being drawn every day from Redhills and Chembarambakkam for supply.