Krishna water discharge to Chennai - Request to be made by WRD by mid April!!
Peak summer is fast approaching now and demand for water in Chennai would be high.
In this scenario, WRD or Water Resources Department is planning to request Andhra Pradesh or AP to discharge Krishna water by the middle of April month to meet the Chennai resident`s requirements this summer.
The ample water storage available in the Chennai city reservoirs is the main reason why WRD has not yet requested for the Krishna water discharge.
Information gathered is that on Thursday, 13th of March 2025 all the 5 reservoirs including Red Hills and Chembarambakkam had a storage of 9345 million cubic feet or mcft that was nearly 79.4% of their total capacity. It is amazing to note here that this water storage yesterday was nearly 743 mcft more than the storage in the water bodies that was present on the same day in 2024.
The WRD dept would seek the release of Krishna water from the Kandaleru reservoir to ensure sufficient resources to meet summer demand. It must be taken into account that the Kandaleru reservoir has about 51000 mcft of water storage to discharge water for Chennai.
This move comes as a part of the inter-state agreement between TN and AP under the Krishna Water Supply Project to ensure adequate water supply amid rising demand. As per the agreement, water would be released in 2 spells January to April and July to October. During January to April, Chennai has to be provided with 4000 mcft of water.
It was explained by an official from WD that Krishna water has been received in Chennai even out of schedule also in the months of June and November. He added that the prime storage for Krishna water which is Poondi reservoir is now nearly 86% full. As the summer progresses, the water storage would decrease.
