After nearly five years, the shutters of the Chembarambakam reservoir will open at noon on Wednesday as a precaution to prevent flooding, particularly in the upstream reaches. Residents need not fear flooding in Adyar, as the release of water will be minimal.
With a steady increase in inflow of 4,027 cusecs (cubic feet per second) and the water level rising to 21.65 feet at 8 am, the Department of Water Resources decided to release about 1,000 cusecs into the Adyar.
The reservoir’s storage is now 3.028 million cubic feet, against its capacity of 3,645 mcft. It should be remembered that Krishna’s water was being diverted to this body of water to build storage until a few days ago. It received a rain of about 10 cm until 6 am
WRD officials said the move was made to open early to avoid any backflow in upstream stretches or tributaries of the Adyar River. The release will gradually rise to 500 cusecs per hour depending on the input of rainwater.
A flood warning has been issued in low-lying areas along the Adyar River and surplus streams such as Kundrathur, Sirukalathur, Tirumudivakkam and Tiruneermalai. The Adyar River has been expanded to carry up to 1 lakh cusecs on the downstream stretch near Saidapet, officials said.
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