The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Chennai receives maximum rain, but reservoirs only half full

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Chennai receives maximum rain, but reservoirs only half full

V. Jayanth

More rains forecast as trough persists in the Bay

CHENNAI: Except for floods in some towns and several habitations along the Cauvery and in Chennai, the Northeast monsoon rain has been fairly benevolent till now. Without facing a cyclone and its associated damage, Tamil Nadu has enjoyed widespread rainfall this season. Only three districts still remain in the "deficient" category according to the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) assessment of the monsoon.

The deficient districts are: Tirunelveli, Tiruvarur and Thoothukudi, in addition to the Union Territory of Pondicherry. The IMD categorises them as "deficient," if the rainfall for the period falls short of the average or normal rainfall, by over 20 per cent.

While the Irrigation and PWD authorities say that most of the tanks and reservoirs in the State are nearly filled to the brim — some of them have surplussed already — it is Chennai's reservoirs and lakes that have not filled up. As of Saturday morning, they are still under the half-way mark.

Against a combined storage capacity of 11,057 million cubic feet (mcft), including Chembarambakkam, the storage was 5,375 mcft, according to Metrowater's website. But the heartening feature is that the combined storage on the same day in 2004 was a meagre 421.60 mcft, and the Government has already commenced daily water supply to Chennai.

Officials consider it "significant" that at least five districts have reported rainfall for the season — from October 1 to November 2 — at over 100 per cent of the normal precipitation. Similarly, for the week ending November 2 (for which complete official figures are available from the IMD), six districts recorded rainfall of more than 150 per cent of the normal figures. Chennai tops both the charts. For the season, it has received 216 per cent in excess of the normal, and for the week 454 per cent above the normal (see chart.) Despite this record performance, the reservoirs feeding the State have not filled up till now.

This, officials explain, is because the catchment areas of the reservoirs have not recorded the same degree of rainfall. Aside from north Tamil Nadu, it is perhaps the south Andhra Pradesh coast that provides the catchment for Chennai. Much of the recent rainfall has been in the Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada regions, as well as closer to Hyderabad. "The monsoon season is still young and we hope the reservoirs will also fill up before long," says a Metrowater official.

"Deficient" districts

Among the "deficient" districts, Tirunelveli has reported just half of its normal rainfall for the season, while Tiruvarur and Thoothukudi have recorded 37 per cent less than the average precipitation. Pondicherry, whose normal rainfall for the season is 302.2 mm, has received 239.2 mm till November 2, leaving a "deficit" of 21 per cent.

With the weatherman forecasting the continuance of the current wet spell, the Government and the administrations in the districts are keeping a close watch on the ground, as some areas have reached a saturation point, and there lies the danger of some tanks or lakes breaching in a few regions.

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