CHENNAI: In a preventive measure against potential flooding and to manage reservoir levels before the northeast monsoon intensifies, the Water Resources Department (WRD) on Tuesday released surplus water from three key reservoirs — Poondi, Red Hills, and Chembarambakkam — as well as from Keelkattalai and Narayanapuram lakes in south Chennai.
According to officials, 2,387 cusecs of water were discharged from Poondi reservoir, while 500 cusecs and 100 cusecs were released from Red Hills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs, respectively. In south Chennai, a combined outflow of 3,420 cusecs was recorded from Narayanapuram and Keelkattalai lakes.
The WRD began releasing water from Poondi last Thursday at 2,287 cusecs, with storage levels reaching 2,521 mcft as of Tuesday. The Red Hills reservoir, currently holding 2,732 mcft against its full capacity of 3,300 mcft, has been discharging excess water through a 13.5 km surplus channel into the Kosasthalaiyar River in Manali.
In the southern parts of the city, water released from Keelkattalai and Narayanapuram lakes is intended to prevent flooding in surrounding areas like Radial Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). The outflow from these lakes moves through Radial Road, into the Pallikaranai marshland, and eventually drains into the Kovalam estuary via Okkiyam Maduvu and the Buckingham Canal.
However, residents and activists have criticised the WRD for failing to clear encroachments and remove water hyacinth from the south Chennai lakes, arguing that these steps could have improved water retention capacity. “The southern portions of Keelkattalai and Narayanapuram lakes are clogged with waste. Unless natural channels are cleared, flooding will recur in low-lying areas like Sembakkam, Selaiyur, and Nanmangalam,” said a local activist.
J Shankar, coordinator of the Federation of Sunnambu Kolathur Residents Welfare Association, said that a new flood regulator and additional outlet have been constructed at Keelkattalai Lake to better control overflow.
WRD assistant engineer Ambalavanan confirmed that plans are underway to install a flood regulator at Keelkattalai Lake to monitor and manage water discharge more effectively during heavy rainfall.
