Chennai’s delayed Krishna water resupply has prompted the Water Resources Department (WRD) to accelerate desilting and cleaning of the Kandaleru-Poondi canal and connected channels before the Northeast monsoon, with officials expecting the work to improve water flow through the system.
The supply of Krishna water from the Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh was stopped last month because of inadequate storage in reservoirs in the State. Poondi reservoir, Chennai’s primary storage point for Krishna water, received nearly 2,250 million cubic feet between July and September this year.
With the Kandaleru-Poondi canal bed now almost dry, the WRD is carrying out desilting at vulnerable sections of the 25-km canal between the entry point at Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district and Poondi reservoir. Silt deposits and vegetation obstructing the channel are being removed near Uthukottai, while portions of the canal bank eroded during heavy rainfall last year are also being strengthened.
The maintenance works are being carried out at a cost of ₹99 lakh as part of the city’s Northeast monsoon preparedness measures. A WRD official said the department had decided to use the halt in Krishna water flow to advance maintenance activities. The work is expected to improve the free flow of water in the canal by a minimum of 10%, the official said.
The department is also clearing vegetation from the 25-km Link canal connecting the Poondi and Chembarambakkam reservoirs. Desilting of that channel was completed until earlier this week, but further work has been stopped after water began to be released from Poondi to Chembarambakkam and Red Hills reservoirs to increase their storage.
Work is continuing simultaneously in two reaches of the Feeder canal that carries water to Red Hills reservoir. Around 70% of the work has been completed, according to officials. Clearing of floating waste and vegetation from the channels will continue until the end of the Northeast monsoon.
The current maintenance programme reflects the operational dependence of Chennai’s reservoir network on linked canals. A delay in Krishna water supply has provided a temporary window for work on the Kandaleru-Poondi canal, but water releases between reservoirs have limited the scope for desilting along the Link canal.
The WRD has suspended improvement works on portions of the Kandaleru-Poondi and Feeder canals because of the approaching monsoon. The department plans to resume those works in January, while the present desilting, vegetation removal and bank-strengthening activities continue through the monsoon preparedness period.
