Cauvery water from Veeranam still quenches Chennai’s thirst

While most Chennaiites might wonder about the connect between the city and Cauvery, water experts here claim that when all the reservoirs in Chennai go bone dry, the city’s fallback plan has always been Cauvery water, for drinking water supply, which would be supplemented from the Veeranam tank in Cuddalore district, 235 km away from the city. 

At present, though the supply has been stopped for over a fortnight, the state can put to use the resources of the existing water augmentation project to meet the water needs of its capital. Water Resources Department (WRD) can draw a maximum of 78 cusecs of water from the tank built 10 centuries ago by Rajaditya Chola, who had named it Veeranarayana lake. 

When the AIADMK government finished the project that remained a pipe dream for three decades, former CM J Jayalalithaa had said she had to act firmly to ensure that Chennai city gets a reliable source of water supply. This was at a time when the city’s water supply was totally reliant on the vagaries of northeast monsoon. 

She had asserted that the city would have slumped into an irretrievable situation if not for the New Veeranam project (the name her government gave to the project) and that evacuation would have been the only option. WRD officials who backed the late CM’s claims said that the project was initially supplying about 75 million-litres-per-day (MLD) and it was subsequently increased to 180 MLD. 

The lake receives water from Cauvery River system through Kollidam(a tributary of Cauvery), Lower Anicut and Vadavar Canals besides rainwater from its own catchment area. 

Underscoring the project’s importance, former Chief Engineer (Chennai Region) A Veerappan said that the city’s population was increasing and the state was looking to augment water to meet the demand. “Veeranam project is a shot in the arm and a tailor-made solution to supplement the water supply which is otherwise dependent on four reservoirs and desalination plants,” he said. 

“The water we store in Veeranam lake is from Cauvery. For this project to work, there has to be water flow in the Cauvery. When the water level dips, the state would augment water from Neyveli coal mines and treat the same and supply it,” the official said, explaining as to what would happen when there was no water in Veeranam. 

“We cannot write off the 180 MLD supply on a comparative note with desalination plants and as well as city reservoirs supplying around 650 MLD. Veeranam is the insurance for the city’s water supply,” said another WRD official. 

Veeranam lake, which reached its full reservoir level during December last, has plunged to a depth of 3.1 ft, and water supply had been stopped to Chennai city and two other taluks in Cuddalore until replenishments.  A WRD official who confirmed this said the supply has been stopped for the past three weeks. 

On managing Veeranam for Chennai city, an Executive Engineer, on conditions of anonymity, said water to Chennai city would begin when the storage level improves.  “It is not the question of the storage present in Veeranam. If the state desires, it can release water from Stanley reservoir – Mettur (which at present has 9.8tmc) and credit it to Veeranam before drawing the same for Chennai city. This way, the city can be assured of 180 MLD water even when all its reservoir sources go dry,” the official said. 

It is pertinent to note that Opposition parties, including the DMK, were blaming the government for not advancing its arguments in Supreme Court which in its final verdict reduced the water allocation as the apex court factoring the drinking water needs of Bengaluru reduced Tamil Nadu’s share and increased Karnataka’s share.