Krishna Delta System (KDS) is an established old Irrigation System in operation since 1852. The old anicut was constructed on River Krishna by Sir Arthur Cotton during 1850-52 which has served the delta system for more than a century. Old anicut was breached due to heavy floods during 1952, the anicut was replaced by Krishna barrage later, it was renamed as Prakasam barrage in remembrance of the great leader Sri Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu, the first Chief Minister of State of Andhra and dedicated to Nation on 24.12.1957.

Construction of Old Krishna Anicut- The idea of constructing an anicut across the river Krishna dates back to 1798. It began in the hands of Captain Buckle and was revised in 1839 and 1841 by Captain Best and Captain Lake. After the endorsement of Major Cotton, the board of Directors of the East India Company approved it on 5 January 1850. The Krishna anicut with its canals for irrigation and flood banks for the protection of the Krishna delta from the floods was constructed from 1852 to 1855 at a cost of Rs. 20 million. It was designed by Sir Arthur Cotton and was built by Capt. Orr. The barrage was built to irrigate an ayacut of 0.58 million acres.

Construction of Krishna barrage (Renamed as Prakasam barrage) - During 09.09.1952, a massive flood breached body wall of Krishna anicut 130 feet wide and 30 feet deep necessitating reconstruction of barrage. The then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Sri Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu laid foundation stone on 13.02.1954 and it was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Sri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy on 24.12.1957, renaming Krishna barrage as Prakasam barrage.

Agricultural Prospects making a RICE BOWL OF INDIA - The Krishna Delta is one of the major delta systems along the east coast of India covering an area of 7,278 km2 in Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh. It has a coast line of about 246 km. The area is served by Krishna canal system and other drains. The altitude varies from 1 m near coast to 12 m above MSL in the upper reaches of the area. The area is mostly agrarian. The delta soils are most fertile. In deltaic alluvium two crops are harvested every year. Paddy and sugarcane are extensively raised on these lands. The Krishna Delta Irrigation Project is the major irrigation project catering the irrigation needs of the area in Kharif and in Rabi seasons. Gross area irrigated during Kharif and Rabi seasons is 375391 ha and 129486 ha respectively. The pisciculture in this area is practiced in 58,634 hectares in Guntur (7,826 ha) and Krishna (50,808 ha) districts.

Agriculture and irrigation are back bone of the economic development of the country. The state of Andhra Pradesh has a heritage of irrigated agriculture dating back to several centuries. In the past during the periods of Kakatiya and Vijayanagara kingdoms, several tanks, canals and diversion systems were constructed and dug wells which are still operating and productive increase in agricultural production and productivity depends to a large extension the availability of water. 

The command area of the old anicut has been under irrigation for over 120 years and has a well-organized water distribution system. Most of the irrigable land has been levelled and cropped for a very long time. Rice is by far the most important crop in the delta region. There are two crops of irrigated rice, namely, (a) wet season or "kharif" which is usually sown in June-July and harvested in November-December and (b) dry season or "rabi" which is usually sown in December-January and harvested in April-May.

River and Canal Navigation as a means of cheap transport - In order to give a boost to interstate movement of various products a canal system was planned in the late 19th century. The canal system running between Kakinada in the state of Andhra Pradesh to Markanam in the state of Tamilnadu near Puducherry was looked upon as one of the greatest links in the total area linking Kakinada Port with Chennai Port. The canals covered in the portions are Kakinada Canal, Eluru Canal, Commamur Canal and Buckingham Canal. These canals integrated with rivers Godavari and Krishna provided uninterrupted navigational link till 1975. Out of these, the Kakinada Canal, Eluru Canal and Commamur Canal are irrigation-cum-navigational canals with interlinkage with rivers Godavari and Krishna; while Buckingham Canal is a tidal canal with sea confluences at many places and was constructed during Eighteenth Century exclusively for Navigation purposes. In this canal waterway, the major commodities used to be transported were rice, salt, sand, forest products, paddy, pulse, building materials etc. by country crafts of 30 to 40 tonnes capacity. Over the years, due to simultaneous development of railways and road network the canal system could not be utilised to the extent envisaged. This has resulted into canal system losing its existence.

Moreover, the irrigation canals are still being maintained by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh but Buckingham Canal is silted up heavily without any proper maintenance and usage. It was unable to pay for its own upkeep and maintenance and started silting up badly and slowly went out of use. Obvious reasons for this condition can be traced out to then newly created alternative mode of cheaper transport infrastructure and technology available as compared to IWT, which was basically old. Though certain stretches of this integrated system of canals and rivers are still being used by people for movement of sand, agricultural and other cargo along with passengers by country boats, most part of the canal and its control structures are commonly found out of use and need repair if the system is to be put back in use.

Preserving cultural heritage through ages (Krishna Pushkaram) - Pushkaram is an Indian festival dedicated to worshiping of rivers. It is celebrated at shrines along the banks of 12 major sacred rivers in India, in the form of ancestor worship, spiritual discourses, devotional music and cultural programmes. The celebration happens annually, once in 12 years along each river. Each river is associated with a zodiac sign, and the river for each year's festival is based on which sign Jupiter is in at the time. Due to regional variations, some of the zodiac signs are associated with multiple rivers. The Pushkaram tradition is not mentioned in the early Hindu texts; it is part of the medieval Hindu astrological lore. Therefore, the names of 12 rivers may vary depending on the regional traditions.

Krishna Pushkaralu is a festival of River Krishna which normally occurs once in every 12 years and is celebrated with much glory. The Pushkaram is observed for a period of 12 days from the time of entry of Jupiter into Virgo (Kanya rasi). The festival is "theoretically" observed throughout the twelve months that the planet remains in that sign, but the first 12 days are considered most sacred as per the beliefs of Indians. Pushkaram has been an age old practice in southern states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. Pushkaram celebrations include reverence of ancestors, spiritual discourses, devotional music and cultural programmes. The devotees engage in activities such as snana (bath in the river), dāna (charity), japa (recitation of mantras), archana and dhyana (meditation).

Theoretically, the festival lasts as long as Jupiter remains in the corresponding zodiac sign (generally, for one year). However, it draws major crowds only during the first 12 days. The first 12 days when the Jupiter enters the zodiac sign and the last 12 days when it exits the zodiac sign are considered as most auspicious. A dip in the sacred river is believed to erase all sins. The first twelve days are known as Adi Pushkaram, and the last twelve days are called Anthya Pushkaram. It is believed that during the above period of twenty-four days, "Pushkar", imbued with the power to make any river holy, will travel with Jupiter as Jupiter moves from one Zodiac house to another. Planets that fall in the "Pushkara navamsa" or "Puskara bhaga" of a birthchart are considered to be very beneficial and auspicious in jyotish astrology.

Rivers carve-out their own unique morphological features. Such features are further unique in the penultimate reaches of the river before its confluence with sea. As the sea level controls behaviour in this reach, the degree of turbulence comes down and the river drops the silt it was carrying hitherto. Due to such deposits, the rivers develop a tendency of running on a ridge during flood period in the delta regions. In as much as the river runs on the ridge, elaborate protections work with flood banks are required to arrest spills. The river course needs to be trained with training works like groynes and spurs to remain in its course. Such need was recognized while constructing the Anicuts itself, and provision was made for such works in the Cost estimates (1847).

As the Government machinery has to act swiftly and decisively during the emergency times of flood, it empowered itself with a Madras River Conservancy Act (1882) for various functions like appointing Conservators, enter upon private lands, define river bed, conduct surveys, alter river limits, prohibit cultivation, prohibit construction, lay penalties, make Acts etc. Under the above empowerment, the Water Resources Department has constructed 13 no of flood banks stretching a length of 346 km on the Krishna River downstream of Prakasam barrage.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh issued administrative approval for Modernization of Krishna Delta System Project for an amount of Rs.45730 million for modernization of Krishna Eastern and Western Delta for modernization of canal, head regulators, locks, drainage canals.

During 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 the works were taken up under Operation and Maintenance with plough back funds under Command Area Development Authority (CADA.)