CHENNAI: The Andhra Pradesh government has stopped the release of Krishna river water to Chennai from Kandaleru reservoir, with the release halted on September 10.
Earlier, AP was releasing around 2,000 cusecs from Kandaleru dam, of which Chennai was receiving around 500 cusecs daily. The remaining water was being utilised for irrigation in AP districts. Following the stoppage of the supply to Chennai, the release from the reservoir has been reduced to half the earlier release, with the water being used mainly for irrigation in the AP districts.
WRD officials said the TN government has been in touch with its AP counterpart seeking continuation of the Krishna water supply, considering its importance to the city’s drinking water requirements. But the AP has indicated that the present reduction is only temporary and that release to Chennai would be resumed once rainfall improves the storage position of Kandaleru reservoir, an official added.
Under the Telugu Ganga Agreement, AP is required to release 12 TMC of water annually to meet Chennai’s requirements. However, Chennai received only 5.626 TMC during the 2025-26 cycle, from July 2025 to June 2026. In the ongoing 2026-27 cycle, the city has received 2.237 TMC as of September 14, as per latest WRD data.
Meanwhile, Chennai’s five drinking-water reservoirs had a combined storage of 5,083 mcft on Monday, against their total capacity of 11,757 mcft. The reservoirs were thus holding around 43.23% of their total capacity, with the combined storage declining by 18 mcft compared to the previous day.
Of the total storage, Poondi held 1,239 mcft, Cholavaram 149 mcft, Red Hills 1,844 mcft, Kannankottai-Thervoy Kandigai 281 mcft and Chembarambakkam 1,570 mcft. The latest figures indicate the city’s reservoirs have a sizable storage buffer to last for five months.
