Chennai's thirst grows as Tamil Nadu water crisis worsens despite monsoon

TN is facing one of its worst droughts in over 140 years, leaving people and industries parched

Even after the South West Monsoon hit the southern part of the country almost two months back, the water shortage in Tamil Nadu, including its capital city of Chennai, is becoming more serious.

The state is facing one of the worst droughts, which has affected various walks of life for the past several months, in over 140 years.

According to data from the Central Water Commission (CWC), the technical organisation in the field of water resources in the country, six major reservoirs in the state, put together, have around 8.63 per cent of the total live capacity.

The six important reservoirs, including Mettur, Lower Bhavani, Vaigai, Parambukulam, Aliyar, and Sholayar, have a live storage capacity of 0.365 billion cubic meters (BCM) as against a total live capacity at full reservoir level (FRL) of 4.229 BCM, according to data on July 20, 2017.

The situation is worse in Chennai, which has a population of around 8.6 million in the metropolitan region alone according to Census 2011. The city also has a considerable floating population.

The city's four reservoirs, which have a full capacity of around 11,057 million cubic feet (MCFT), have a storage of 101 MCFT, which is less than one per cent of the total capacity. Two out of the four reservoirs are completely dry, with zero storage as on July 26, 2017. The total storage in the four reservoirs on the same day of the last year was a total of 3,398 MCFT. 

The shortage has hit a majority of the city, which relies on the water supply from these reservoirs. According to reports, the total requirement in the city is around 1,200 million litre per day (MLD), while the authorities are able to supply around 980 MLD. The city manages the requirement with various water resources, including two desalination plants (one each in Minjur and Nemmeli) and individual bore wells.

The local bodies and the state government are bringing water from borewells in the neighbouring districts to quench the capital city's thirst. There are around 700 tankers across the city and the waiting period for water is getting longer day by day.

The drinking water scarcity is severe in many other parts of the state, including in Salem, Dindugal, Trichy, and Nagercoil.

The industries that rely on water have also been affected due to the acute shortage. The refineries, sugar and textile mills, among other facilities, are looking at various options to save water and reduce the usage of the resource to ensure that business is not affected due to its shortage, said industry sources.

The South West Monsoon rainfall in Tamil Nadu, for the period from June 1 to July 26, 2017, has been recorded at 32 per cent less than normal rainfall, which shows the rainfall deficiency in the state. Puducherry, the Union Territory in the region, has also seen 18 per cent less rain, though this falls under the normal rainfall category according to the definition of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The state may have to count on rainfall arriving in the last part of the year, the North East Monsoon, for its sustenance now, according to experts.

While the South West Monsoon hit Kerala coasts a little early, by the end of May, the rainfall even in the South Western States of Kerala and Karnataka have been deficient, according to information from the regional meteorological division.

Kerala has posted 28 per cent less rainfall between June 1 and July 26, 2017. Andhra Pradesh has seen an increase of nine per cent in rainfall during the season, with 216 mm recorded during the same period.

The storage level in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh is also not something to write home about. Andhra Pradesh, which has one important reservoir, has 10.48 per cent storage in it, with 0.209 BCM storage compared to 1.994 BCM of live capacity at FRL. Two important reservoirs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, another segmentation by the CWC, are at a storage of 0.445 BCM as against a live capacity at FRL of 15.129 BCM, a meagre 2.94 per cent storage level. Telangana, which has a total capacity of 2.921 BCM, has a storage of 0.476 BCM as on July 20.

Karnataka has seen 26.77 per cent storage in 14 of its important reservoirs, which have a live capacity at FRL of 23.492 BCM and live storage of 6.291 BCM, during the same period.