Chennai, Apr 29: Officials from the Chennai Drinking Water Board have confirmed that Chennai city will continue to receive uninterrupted drinking water supply until September, despite a significant shortfall in rainfall this year. Typically, the period from March 1 to April 27 sees an average rainfall of 54 mm, but this year, it has been only 9.4 mm – a staggering 83% less. Sixteen districts, including Chennai, have experienced no rainfall during this period.The prevailing El Nino in the Pacific Ocean has led to rising temperatures, hindering cloud formation and further reducing the likelihood of rainfall. Consequently, water levels in the lakes supplying Chennai’s drinking water have depleted. While Poondi Lake holds 6,855 million cubic feet, Cholavaram Lake holds 1,020 million cubic feet, Puzhal Lake holds 2,930 million cubic feet, Kannan Fort-Thervai Kandigai holds 386 million cubic feet, and Chembarambakkam Lake holds 2,389 million cubic feet, Veeranam Lake has dried up.
Despite the shortfall compared to last year’s reserves, officials reassure the public that there will be no shortage of drinking water this summer. Current water availability, supplemented by 210 million liters of desalinated water daily from Meenjur and Nemmeli, along with an additional 150 million gallons daily from the newly implemented seawater conversion plant in Nemmeli, adequately meets Chennai’s water needs.