Nearly 100 mm rainfall in the last couple of days in the Siruvani reservoir has brought cheer to the city’s water supply managers in the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board and Coimbatore Corporation.
Officials in the Corporation said that the rainfall recorded in the reservoir during the 24 hour period that ended 8 a.m. on June 8 was 50 mm and on June 9 was 49 mm. The nearly 100 mm rainfall offset the quantity of water that the Board drew everyday for supply to the city. The water level in the Reservoir as of June 9 stood at 14.43 feet, the same level that was recorded a week ago, on June 2.
The officials said that since June 1 the reservoir had received 151 mm rainfall and in the last 10 days of May, the Reservoir had recorded 160 mm rainfall, which was part of the summer showers though.
Last year, the water level in the reservoir was well below the dead storage. The data available with the Corporation revealed that the water level was at least 15 feet below the dead storage level as of June 9, 2017. And, it remained so for the whole of June 2017. In 2016, the water level as of June 9 was three feet below the dead storage level.
Pointing to the statistics, the officials said the good summer showers and the South West Monsoon rain starting June 1 this year had ensured that the Board had been able to supply well over 60 million litres a day (mld) to city. With the water the Board supplied, the Corporation had been supplying Siruvani water at least once a week to 24 of the 100 wards. The officials said that water supply from the Pilloor I and II schemes were also good.
The Board on an average supply 20 mld from Pilloor I and the Corporation drew 125 mld from the Pilloor II schemes.
It was getting another eight mld from the Aliyar drinking water supply scheme for supply to Kurichi and Kuniamuthur and 12 mld from the Bhavani Combined Drinking Water Supply Scheme for supply to Kavundampalayam and Vadavalli.
Except for a few packets in the city, the Corporation was able to maintain water supply at once in seven to nine days, the officials said and added that there should be no problem in the near future, if the South West Monsoon were to bring more rains to Siruvani catchments.
Following a torrential downpour in the Nilgiris and its lower reaches, the catchements of Pilloor reservoir witnessed an inflow of 3,000 cusecs and this resulted in the storage going up by 3.50 ft in just over night. Officials are discharging 6,000 cusecs and this has resulted in flooding in River Bhavani.
