Andhra shrivels in scorching summer, Chennai may not even get Krishna water

CHENNAI: Even as the scorching heat is fast emptying reservoirs and lakes in the city, hopes of meeting the shortage with Krishna water are also drying up for want of enough water at Kandaleru in Andhra Pradesh. Normally, Krishna water is released by the end of April to meet Chennai’s summer needs.

According to the Water Resources Department (WRD), Tamil Nadu may not even receive Krishna water this year if the neighbouring state fails to get southwest monsoon spells in June.

“As per the agreement, Andhra should release 12 tmc of Krishna water. However, only eight tmc of water was discharged to Tamil Nadu due to copious rainfall during the northeast monsoon. This year, the scenario is different with no sufficient water in Kandeluru,” a senior official with WRD told DT Next.

A few years ago, the State witnessed similar situations where Krishna water was not released. But it was manageable then due to excess rainfall during the northeast monsoon.

“We may still manage without Krishna water with excess spells during the monsoon. But if the State fails to get copious rainfall during northeast monsoon this year, there will be a drought next year,” the official added.

The official further stated that if the Andhra government fails to release Krishna water, the department will make alternative arrangements to provide drinking water to Chennaities.

“We have 6 TMC of water stored in the reservoirs against a total of 13 TMC. Since the Veeranam dam is dry we have managed to get water supplied from Nemmili desalination plant (150 MLD) to supply 1040 MLD of potable water. At least one TMC of water is required per month for the city and we have adequate water till September,” said another official.