Chennai Starts Drawing Water from Thervoy Kandigai-Kannankottai Reservoir

Rapid Summary:

• Chennai Metrowater is enhancing infrastructure to boost water supply from the Thervoy Kandigai-Kannankottai reservoir, its fifth drinking water source.
• The reservoir has a storage capacity of 500 million cubic feet (mcft) and currently holds approximately 271 mcft of water.
• Work is underway to transport water from this reservoir to the Red Hills treatment plant for distribution across Chennai through a ₹30.59-crore project, which is 15% complete.
• The project includes laying new pipelines over a 43.35 km route, improving existing pipelines, constructing an additional pump house with 66 mld capacity at Thervoy Kandigai, and upgrading pump houses at Kannigaiper and red Hills for efficient water flow.
• Water treated at Red Hills (300 mld capacity) will join the city’s common distribution network serving areas in north,south,and central Chennai.
• Currently, residents receive approximately 1,099.96 million litres of daily water supply sourced from reservoirs including Chembarambakkam, Poondi, and Red Hills via pipelines and tankers.
• The Thervoy Kandigai reservoir stores surplus Krishna river floodwater conveyed through Andhra Pradesh’s Kandaleru Poondi canal; surplus feeds into other reservoirs before reaching this one.
• Project completion is expected by January 2026.

indian Opinion Analysis:

Chennai’s efforts to expand its drinking water infrastructure reflect proactive measures to address increasing urban demand amidst population growth. By utilizing surplus Krishna river waters from Andhra Pradesh effectively through interconnected reservoirs like Thervoy Kandigai-kannankottai and prioritizing improvements in pipeline systems covering important distances such as the proposed expansion to Red Hills-this ₹30 crore project highlights strategic planning.

With ambitious goals to ensure uninterrupted supply in merged city regions experiencing high demand spikes during peak seasons or floods-such enduring storage designs act as balancing mechanisms safeguarding against acute shortages or crises anticipated post-monsoon flows/pre-drought cycles nationwide involving trans-boundary river-sharing dependencies visible across southern cooperative delta challenges unfolding relevantly parallel domains nationally significant advancing synchronously…
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