City Likely To Face Water Crisis In Summer 2014
Posted on: 01/Jan/2014 2:30:14 PM
On Tuesday the northeast monsoon season officially closed with a rainfall deficit of 41% in the city. The monsoon was declared as having failed a week in advance as rainfall hopes dissipated earlier than expected. The state too faces a deficit of 33%, double the short fall it suffered last year.
Y E A Raj, deputy director general,India Meteorological Department (Chennai) said,” “The monsoon is officially ending today, but nature doesn’t follow any calendar. Weather models indicate there may be some rain in the first week of January in the state, but Chennai may not benefit much.”
According to the met department, night temperature will remain low till mid-January. With cold winds, the minimum temperature has remained around 20 degrees Celsius in the past few days.
Officials of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), popularly known as Metrowater, have a rough road ahead. The water levels in the four reservoirs — Red Hills, Sholavaram, Chembarambakkam and Poondi— are not enough for the growing city.
The current water storage in the reservoirs is not expected to last more than three months, unless a few spells of rain come to the rescue. “Meetings are being held to chart out different options to supply water in the coming months” said a senior official of Metrowater.
The current daily supply to the city is 200 million litresless than the usual 831 million litres a day. The groundwater table, too, has dipped from 4.71 metres below ground level in October to 4.87 metres in November. Metro water cut down supply to certain localities last summer.
