Krishna water reaches Chennai reservoirs as Andhra resumes supply through Telugu Ganga canal

Krishna River water released from Andhra Pradesh’s Kandaleru Reservoir has begun reaching Chennai via the Telugu Ganga canal, improving reservoir levels amid summer demand. Despite initial delays due to canal issues, inflow is expected to strengthen the city’s drinking water supply

Chennai: Relief is on the horizon for Chennai’s water managers as Krishna River water released from Andhra Pradesh’s Kandaleru Reservoir has begun reaching Tamil Nadu through the Telugu Ganga canal system, bolstering supplies to the city’s drinking water reservoirs amid the ongoing summer season.

Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) said on Sunday that Krishna water is currently flowing into the Poondi Reservoir at a rate of 75 cubic feet per second (cusecs), marking a gradual increase from the initial inflow of 50 cusecs recorded a few days ago.

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The water entered Tamil Nadu through the Zero Point at Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district before making its way to Poondi, one of the four major reservoirs that cater to Chennai’s drinking water requirements.

The inflow comes at a crucial time, with the city’s reservoirs collectively holding 7.154 thousand million cubic feet (TMC ft) of water, representing about 54.11 per cent of their total storage capacity.

The Krishna water release follows a recent request by Tamil Nadu authorities to their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh seeking additional supplies to meet Chennai’s water demand during the summer months.

Responding to the request, the Andhra Pradesh government released around 1,900 cusecs of water from the Kandaleru Reservoir into the Telugu Ganga canal network. The water had to travel nearly 152 kilometres through the canal system before reaching the Tamil Nadu border.

While officials initially expected the flow to arrive at Zero Point on May 25, it eventually reached the border on May 28 with a discharge of 50 cusecs and has since increased to 75 cusecs.

According to WRD officials, the delay in the arrival of water was primarily due to poor maintenance and silt accumulation in several stretches of the Telugu Ganga canal. Seepage losses and absorption along the canal route also reduced the flow velocity, slowing the movement of water towards Tamil Nadu.

Under the Telugu Ganga Project agreement, Andhra Pradesh supplies Krishna River water to Tamil Nadu every year to support Chennai’s drinking water needs.

As per the pact, Tamil Nadu is entitled to receive 12 TMC ft of water annually, including eight TMC ft during the July-October period and four TMC ft between January and April.

Officials expressed confidence that the continuing inflow would help strengthen water storage levels in Chennai’s reservoirs and provide additional security for the city’s drinking water supply in the coming months.