Veeranam Lake

Veeranam Lake, built by the Chola kings, is the main reservoir to meet the drinking water requirements of Chennai city. The lake draws water from the Cauvery River. The Lake is located at Senthathope which is about 230 km south of Chennai. The lake has a capacity to store about 1,465 mcft of water.

The nearest airport is the Chennai International Airport.

Though the level in the Veeranam lake has dipped to 323 million cubic feet (mcft), the same amount of 180 mld (million litres a day) was being drawn for city supply. The available storage would permit drawal till the month-end, said the official.

"Water released from the Mettur dam through Kollidam and Lower Anicut would also bring in sufficient inflow into the Veeranam Lake" However, the time of the release was not known, an official said.

The lake received sufficient inflow in April enabling supply to the city for three months With heavy rain in Western Ghats, the lake almost got its storage capacity as it received inflow from the Cauvery tributaries Bhavani and Amaravathi.