CHENNAI: In response to the steady rise in water inflow following heavy rainfall in catchment areas, the Water Resources Department (WRD) on Tuesday began releasing 100 cusecs of water from Chembarambakkam Lake — one of the main drinking water sources for Chennai and its suburbs.
According to WRD data accessed by The New Indian Express, the water level in Chembarambakkam stood at 2.653 tmcft, against its full capacity of 3.645 tmcft. This marks a significant improvement from the same period last year, when storage was just 1.378 tmcft.
A senior WRD official told TNIE, “We are maintaining the water level at 20.20 feet out of the maximum 24 feet. As of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the inflow was 796 cusecs, and it has been gradually increasing due to continuous rainfall in the upper catchment areas.”
As a precautionary measure to ensure dam safety, the WRD started releasing surplus water early. The volume of release may be increased further depending on inflow levels, the official added.
The department is carrying out round-the-clock monitoring, and necessary alerts have been issued to local authorities in low-lying downstream areas.
According to a release from the Kancheepuram district administration, residents in several villages — including Sirukalathur, Kavanur, Kundrathur, Thirumudivakkam, Vazhuthiyambedu, Thiruneermalai — and low-lying areas along the Adyar River have been advised to move to safer locations as a precaution.
Officials noted that the timely release of water from Chembarambakkam Lake would help prevent flooding in the Adyar River basin and ensure safe storage levels in the coming days.
Highlighting the situation across other city reservoirs, another WRD official said that with the North-East monsoon bringing widespread rainfall, inflows into other key reservoirs — Poondi, Red Hills, and Cholavaram — have also increased significantly.
As of Tuesday, the Poondi reservoir held 2.521 tmcft of water, which is 78.03% of its total capacity of 3.231 tmcft. Officials said 2,347 cusecs of surplus water is being released from Poondi to regulate storage levels.
