Chennai: The discharge of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh’s Kandaleru reservoir to Chennai will stop within the next two to three days, as the reservoir’s water storage has fallen sharply.Currently, only 40 cusecs of water are being released towards Chennai, a fraction of the usual supply. The city received around 3 TMC of Krishna water between May and September, compared with the usual 4-5 TMC during the period. This has raised concerns over the reduced inflow to Chennai’s reservoirs.To augment Chennai’s water storage, the neighbouring state began releasing water from the Kandaleru reservoir on Feb 25, which reached Poondi reservoir on March 4. However, the discharge was temporarily halted on March 29 due to maintenance work on water bodies in Andhra Pradesh. The supply resumed on May 15, with 180-200 cusecs being released, and the same level of outflow was maintained until July 10.In July, the neighbouring state increased the release of Krishna water to 455 cusecs despite low storage in the reservoir. The same level of outflow was maintained until the first week of Sept.“Since there was no rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and water storage in the Kandaleru reservoir was only 17 TMC, the state had to meet its requirements for the second crop cultivation. So, the outflow to Chennai was reduced. From Sept 10, only 100 cusecs were discharged, which gradually came down to 40 cusecs. The supply is expected to stop temporarily in the next two to three days,” said a senior WRD official.However, officials have assured that the outflow could resume if the reservoir receives adequate inflows following rainfall in the catchment areas in the coming days.At present, Chennai’s reservoirs have around 5 TMC of water, which is expected to meet the city’s requirements for the next five months. In addition, the 3 TMC of Krishna water received so far could meet the requirement for another three months, taking the supply up to Feb 2027. However, officials said a deficient northeast monsoon could lead to water shortages during the summer of 2027.
