Chennai, Oct 28:
The northeast monsoon has brought fresh inflows into Chennai’s drinking-water reservoirs, improving storage after levels had fallen significantly below those recorded during the corresponding period last year.
The five principal reservoirs supplying the city — Poondi, Cholavaram, Red Hills, Chembarambakkam and Kannankottai-Thervoykandigai — recorded a combined storage of 4,827 million cubic feet on October 25, compared with 3,959 million cubic feet on October 15. This represents an increase of 868 million cubic feet in 10 days.
Red Hills recorded the largest gain, with storage rising by 539 million cubic feet to 2,415 million cubic feet, or about 73 per cent of its capacity. Chembarambakkam gained 174 million cubic feet, taking its storage to 1,493 million cubic feet.
Despite the improvement, officials will be watching rainfall and inflows closely as the monsoon progresses. The recent increase offers relief, but continued rainfall will be important to strengthen water reserves and support Chennai’s drinking-water needs through the coming months.