CHENNAI: Despite the intense summer in the city, Chennai has not witnessed any spike in demand for drinking water, with the city currently holding nearly 8 TMC (thousand million cubic metres) of water in its reservoirs, enough to ensure uninterrupted supply for the next eight months.
The Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) said the existing storage levels, coupled with desalination output, were sufficient to meet the city’s monthly requirement of nearly 1 TMC without affecting daily supply.
“There has been no unusual increase in mobile water distribution trips across the city even during peak summer,” said Vetrichelvan Malaichamy, joint director and PR Manager, CMWSSB.
Metro Water currently operates around 3,200 tanker lorry trips daily across Chennai. In addition, the city is supported by desalination plants with a combined capacity of 350 MLD, helping supplement drinking water supply. “The available storage and desalination output are adequate to provide uninterrupted water supply for the next eight months,” the official added.
It’s noteworthy that during the northeast monsoon in 2025, intense rainfall helped the city’s major reservoirs reach maximum capacity with 100% storage, enabling uninterrupted drinking water supply to Chennai residents. As of May 11, the six major reservoirs serving Chennai together hold substantial storage: Poondi (1,675 mcft), Cholavaram (224 mcft), Red Hills (2,075 mcft), Kannankottai-Thervoy Kandigai (383 mcft), Chembarambakkam (2,960 mcft), and Veeranam (816.95 mcft).
“There has been no interruption in Metro Water supply unlike previous years. Last year, during the summer season, we had to depend on Metro Water tanker lorry supply for almost two months. However, this year we’re getting water round the clock even during peak summer,” said Ammu S, a resident of Tondiarpet.