WRD releases water from Red Hills reservoir at 200 cusecs

Chennai: With steady rain and inflow of Krishna water Supply filling Red Hills reservoir close to the brim, the water resources department (WRD) on Wednesday began releasing water at the rate of 200 cusecs to prevent flooding in low-lying neighbourhoods downstream.

The department has also issued alerts to residents living in low-lying areas along the surplus water canal passing through Naravarikuppam, Vadakarai, Grand Line, Puzhal, Vadaperumbakkam, Manjambakkam, Kosappur, Manali, and Sadayankuppam.

Authorities have urged residents in these vulnerable areas to move to safer locations immediately

Red Hills reservoir has a full reservoir level of 21 feet and a total storage capacity of 3,300 million cubic feet (mcft).

On Tuesday, the water level rose close to 20 feet following an increased inflow at the rate of 145 cusecs into the catchment area due to intense rain.

As most of the smaller irrigation tanks in the catchment area were already filled to around 95% of their capacity, and with further rainfall expected, the department released water at 200 cusecs from 2pm on Wednesday.

"Usually, before the onset of the northeast monsoon, at least two feet of storage space should be left in the reservoir to accommodate rainwater during the season. The discharge has been initiated gradually.

"If there is a heavy downpour on Wednesday night, the outflow may be increased by another 100 cusecs; otherwise, the same discharge will be maintained," said a senior WRD official.