Solace as Mettur water fills Veeranam

Chennai: If we feel a little respite from water scarcity thank Veeranam lake. The water body in Cuddalore district is filling up fast, thanks to rain in many parts of the state and in Karnataka . Metrowater has started drawing 180 million litres per day (mld) from the lake again for supply to the state capital .

After release of water from Mettur dam, which received water from Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams in Karnataka, Veeranam has been getting good flow, said officials.

Veeranam has a capacity of 1,465 million cubic feet (mcft). During April, May and June, Metrowater had been getting less water from Veeranam. When the water storage level is good, Metrowater draws 180mld. During the dry period, it goes down to 120mld.

Metrowater continues to distribute nearly 520mld of water every day to Chennai, of which 180mld comes from two desalination plants, 120mld from farm wells in Tiruvallur district, 20mld groundwater from added areas and more than 5mld each from quarries in Erumaiyur and Retteri.

The government has been bringing 5.5mld from Jolarpet by rail wagons. “Together, we’ve been able to supply drinking water to all parts on alternate days,” said the official.

The recent spells of rain, however, have not added much the city’s four reservoirs — Red Hills, Chembarambakkam, Poondi and Cholavaram.

“Rain in the last month has just made the reservoirs wet,” said the official. “The existing water levels will not allow Metrowater to draw water from these reservoirs. If the city continues to get rain till the end of September, we can expect some increase in storage in the reservoirs.”

The Red Hills reservoir has a capacity of 3,300mcft. At present, it has only 16mcft. The Poondi reservoir, which has a capacity of 3,231mcft, now has only 16mcft of water. Reservoirs at Chembarambakkam (3,645mcft capacity) and Cholavaram (1,081mcft) virtually have no water. On Tuesday, there was no water inflow into the reservoirs. Officials are releasing 2 cusecs (cubic meters per second) from the Poondi reservoir. “Last year this time, the situation was better,” said another Metrowater official. In 2018, the Redhills reservoir had 697mcft, Cholavaram 1mcft; Chembarambakkam 437mcft and Poondi 13mcft, the official said.