The Hindu 19.09.2009
Kandaleru water reaches Uthukottai
Staff Reporter
| Steady inflow likely after a day, says official |
Water will travel 25 km from inter-State border
to reach Poondi reservoir
Four city reservoirs can store nearly
9,000 mcft of water
CHENNAI: Water from the Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh reached Uthukottai, the inter-State border of Kandaleru-Poondi canal on Friday.
An official of Water Resources Department said that about 1,500 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water is being released from the reservoir upstream since Tuesday. Water travelled nearly 152 km and reached Uthukottai around 6.30 p.m. on Friday. The initial flow was marginal and it would take a day to receive steady inflow.
From the inter-State border, water would travel a distance of 25 km to reach Poondi reservoir, a major storage point, on Saturday. With the repair work carried out recently on the canal, maximum realisation is expected. One cusec of water is equal to 28.3 litres .
The four city reservoirs have space to store nearly 9,000 million cubic feet (tmcft) of water. Of this, Poondi reservoir can take in three tmcft of water, said an official.
Chennai Metrowater officials said that the release of water from Kandaleru would help in improving the water supply in the city.
The extraction of groundwater would be reduced according to the water realised in the Poondi reservoir. At present, Chennai is being supplied about 640-650 million litres of water a day.
As per the agreement between the two States, Chennai must be provided with the water till November, the officials added.
