The fifth reservoir at Tharvoy Kandigai Kannankottai in Thiruvallur district, which was inaugurated in November last year, is glowing with water as it reaches its full potential for the first time on Wednesday.
The reservoir was built specifically to store drinking water for the needs of Chennai. It was built in 1944, 77 years after the Pundari reservoir was incorporated as the city’s major water source.
Officials of the Water Resources Department said that the fifth reservoir has touched its full capacity of 500 million cubic feet and continues to receive a minimum of five cusecs (cubic feet per second) of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh. It is now being used as a buffer source as other reservoirs, with sufficient storage for water distribution.
“Even before the inauguration, the waterbody at Tharvoy Kandigai had storage due to rainwater flow from the catchment areas. An official said that about 200 MCFT was stored through the flow of flood water, Krishna water contributed to the remaining storage.
When there is storage in the Pundari reservoir, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) will draw water from Tharavoy Kandigai and pass it through a pipeline to the Kandaleru Pundi (KP) canal. From there, the water will go to the Pundari reservoir.
The state’s entry point to the KP Canal at Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district continued to receive the minimum amount of Krishna water (56 cusecs).
Some of it is being transported to Pundi reservoir.
The confluence point of the canal and Pundi reservoir has now been secured with a mixed wall to prevent the entry of cattle.
“Since September last year, Chennai has received 7.5 TMFT of water, the highest volume in recent years. We have not asked to raise the amount for the existing spell as there is enough water in the city’s reservoirs to meet drinking water needs this summer.
In addition, work is underway to repair the linings of the KP Canal in vulnerable parts for a distance of 8 km between Uthukottai and Pundai.
24 24.78 crore project will take two months to complete. The plan of the department is to find more Krishna water after work.
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