The temperature is rising as summer nears and Chennai is staring at an alarming water crisis.
Officials are struggling for a solution to fast depleting sources of water.
A drop in levels at Andhra Pradesh's Kandaleru reservoir is a particular source of worry. Supply of Krishna river water from the Kandaleru reservoir via the Poondi reservoir - that the city is now mostly dependent on -has dropped from 400 cusecs (11,300 litres per second) to 120 cusecs (3,400 litres per second) over two weeks.
This has resulted in the shortage of drinking water supply in most parts of the city, barring core areas like Triplicane, Royapettah, Kotturpuram, Nungambakkam and Anna Nagar.
The city's four main reservoirs, at Poondi, Red Hills, Cholavaram and Chembarambakkam, are dry or drying up fast.They currently hold 1.7tmcft, as compared to 8tmcft at the same time last year. Three reservoirs, barring Poondi, have run almost dry and Metrowater officials estimate water in the dams to last until April. The city requires 1,100MLD (million litres of water a day) but supply has now dropped to 550MLD.
The dead storage in Cholavaram is under threat of evaporation and officials are pumping water from the Poondi reservoir to Chembarambakkam and Red Hills for supply to the city.
"The storage in Cholavaram is estimated to last another 15 days," a Metrowater official said. "As the water level has reached dead storage, gravitational force cannot move water to the Red Hills reservoir nearby."
When former chief minister O Panneerselvam wrote to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart on January 5, the water level in the Kandaleru reservoir was 13.56tmcft (thousand million cubic feet). The current level in the reservoir has fallen below 8tmcft, compared to 31tmcft at the same time last year.
The Andhra Pradesh government has so far supplied the city 2.2tmcft water since January 20. One tmcft is equivalent to a month's supply in the city.
The Kandaleru reservoir discharges 1,500-2,000 cusecs (42,500litres-56,000litres per second) per day. Of this, Chennai had received around 400 cusecs daily till two weeks ago, before it fell to 120 cusecs on Friday.
"Krishna water inflow has "Krishna water inflow has reduced due to the fall in the Kandaleru reservoir levels," a PWD official at the Poondi reservoir said. The officials are not certain when the inflow will pick up.
Metrowater will soon have to turn to alternate sources, draw around 180MLD through wells in the Paravanar riverbed, the Neyveli basin and agricultural fields in Poondi and Tamaraipakkam in Tiruvallur. The city will continue to receive 100MLD each from the desalination plants at Nemmeli and Minjur.
Officials are struggling for a solution to fast depleting sources of water.
A drop in levels at Andhra Pradesh's Kandaleru reservoir is a particular source of worry. Supply of Krishna river water from the Kandaleru reservoir via the Poondi reservoir - that the city is now mostly dependent on -has dropped from 400 cusecs (11,300 litres per second) to 120 cusecs (3,400 litres per second) over two weeks.
This has resulted in the shortage of drinking water supply in most parts of the city, barring core areas like Triplicane, Royapettah, Kotturpuram, Nungambakkam and Anna Nagar.
The city's four main reservoirs, at Poondi, Red Hills, Cholavaram and Chembarambakkam, are dry or drying up fast.They currently hold 1.7tmcft, as compared to 8tmcft at the same time last year. Three reservoirs, barring Poondi, have run almost dry and Metrowater officials estimate water in the dams to last until April. The city requires 1,100MLD (million litres of water a day) but supply has now dropped to 550MLD.
The dead storage in Cholavaram is under threat of evaporation and officials are pumping water from the Poondi reservoir to Chembarambakkam and Red Hills for supply to the city.
"The storage in Cholavaram is estimated to last another 15 days," a Metrowater official said. "As the water level has reached dead storage, gravitational force cannot move water to the Red Hills reservoir nearby."
When former chief minister O Panneerselvam wrote to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart on January 5, the water level in the Kandaleru reservoir was 13.56tmcft (thousand million cubic feet). The current level in the reservoir has fallen below 8tmcft, compared to 31tmcft at the same time last year.
The Andhra Pradesh government has so far supplied the city 2.2tmcft water since January 20. One tmcft is equivalent to a month's supply in the city.
The Kandaleru reservoir discharges 1,500-2,000 cusecs (42,500litres-56,000litres per second) per day. Of this, Chennai had received around 400 cusecs daily till two weeks ago, before it fell to 120 cusecs on Friday.
"Krishna water inflow has "Krishna water inflow has reduced due to the fall in the Kandaleru reservoir levels," a PWD official at the Poondi reservoir said. The officials are not certain when the inflow will pick up.
Metrowater will soon have to turn to alternate sources, draw around 180MLD through wells in the Paravanar riverbed, the Neyveli basin and agricultural fields in Poondi and Tamaraipakkam in Tiruvallur. The city will continue to receive 100MLD each from the desalination plants at Nemmeli and Minjur.