Chembarambakkam water level over 20 ft, 100 cusecs released in Chennai

CHENNAI: In view of the steady rise in inflow following heavy rain in catchment areas, the Water Resources Department (WRD) on Tuesday began releasing 100 cusecs of water from the Chembarambakkam lake, one of the main drinking water sources for Chennai and its suburbs. According to WRD data, the storage level in the lake stood at 2.653 tmcft on Tuesday out of its full capacity of 3.645 tmcft. This marks a major improvement compared to the same period last year, when the storage was 1.378 tmcft. A senior WRD official told the TNIE , We are now maintaining water level at 20.2 feet out of 24 feet in the lake. The inflow was 796 cusecs at 6 am on Tuesday, and it has been gradually increasing due to continuous rainfall in upper catchment areas. As part of precautionary measures and to ensure dam safety, we started releasing surplus water early. Depending on the inflow, the release may be increased. He said close monitoring is being carried out round-the-clock and alerts have been issued to local authorities in low-lying areas downstream. As per a release issued from Kancheepuram district administration, people living in villages such as Sirukalathur, Kavanur, Kundrathur, Thirumudivakkam, Vazhuthiyambedu, Thirueermalai and low lying areas along the Adyar river have been advised to move to safer locations. According to officials, the timely release of water from Chembarambakkam lake would help prevent flooding in the Adyar basin and ensure safe storage levels in the coming days. Highlighting the situation in other city reservoirs, another WRD official said, With the North-East monsoon bringing widespread rain, inflows into other reservoirs such as Poondi, Red Hills, and Cholavaram have also shown a sharp rise. The Poondi reservoir currently holds 2.521 tmcft of water which is 78.03 % of its total capacity of 3.231 tmcft. Officials said that 2,347 cusecs of surplus water is being released from the reservoir to regulate storage levels. According to an official release from lower Palar division, the WRD has begun releasing water from Keelkattalai and Narayanapuram lakes through flood regulators, following the heavy rain during the onset of the monsoon. The measure was taken as a precaution, considering the continuous inflow of water into the Pallikkaranai area from the upper lakes.