CM Vijay inspects Chembarambakkam reservoir; stresses on round-the-clock monitoring

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay inspected Chembarambakkam reservoir, one of the key drinking water sources of Chennai, on Monday and instructed Water Resources Department (WRD) to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of inflow and water level during the monsoon.

The storage at Chembarambakkam reservoir has been gradually building up and stood at 1,488 million cubic feet (mc. ft.) against the total capacity of 3,645 mc. ft., accounting for 41% of its capacity. The reservoir continued to receive an inflow of 150 cubic feet per second (cusecs).

The active phase of the Northeast monsoon brought steady inflows into the city’s five major reservoirs, which had been fast losing storage. Their combined storage has now risen to 41.3% compared with nearly 34% recorded on October 15.

During his visit, Mr. Vijay inspected the sluice gates, water intake tower and bund areas and held detailed review on the lake’s current water level, inflow and available flood cushion, said a press release.

Officials of the WRD said preparedness measures to deal with extreme weather events similar to 2015 floods were discussed. Various measures being executed and proposed, including creating buffer space ahead of heavy inflow through controlled water release and restoring lakes upstream that feed the reservoir, were discussed.

Mr. Vijay also directed officials that the control rooms remain operational with adequate staff and ensure advance warning to residents in the downstream portions of the reservoir ahead of water release.

Ministers, including Rural Development and Water Resources Minister N. Anand, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.A. Sengottaiyan, and Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M. Saikumar were present during the inspection.