Four more reservoirs with 8 TMC capacity on the anvil for Chennai

After being forced to waste a massive volume of water, which could have quenched Chennai’s thirst for more than three years, after just two intense spells of rain this northeast monsoon, the Water Reservoir Department (WRD) has planned to set up four new reservoirs in and around the city vwith a combined capacity of 8 TMC to store discharge from the major dams during good monsoon years.

The water managers had released 38.87 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water in 2021, while it was around 20 TMC in 2020.

“To store more water, we are working on a proposal to set up four new reservoirs, including in Tiruttani and Gummidipoondi; increase the capacity of the existing ones; and build check dams,” said a senior WRD official.

These new reservoirs would be able to store 8 TMC water discharged from the existing ones, which would reduce or even prevent flooding in the city.

Meanwhile, another official confided that the reduction in the carrying capacity of surplus water canals due to lack of maintenance was one of the major reasons for inundation. “If these canals’ capacity is increased, flooding could be prevented,” the official said.