A three-week scare over possibilities of restricted water supply in the city, allegedly triggered by the ‘oversight’ of a few officials of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), appears to have blown over for the time being with an assuring rise in water level in the Peppara reservoir after the recent rain.
The flow into the reservoir leading to the rise in water level has been akin to a trickle, but steady. On Friday, the level was pegged at 98.7 metres, in comparison to 97.5 metres last Friday. According to KWA Managing Director Ashok Kumar Singh, the current level was sufficient for supply that could stretch up to 55 days which, in his words, was ‘quite sufficient without any cause for alarm.’ The KWA was hoping that this would slowly touch the 100-metre mark with similar rain over the next few days.
Mr. Singh said the KWA would still prefer lowering the shutters for a few days till the water level rose to the dam’s present maximum storage level of 104.5 metres. This would depend on the rain over the next few days and the opinion of the Cabinet as well. The good news, as of now, was that there would be no immediate restriction on supply of water to the city, though the public would be advised to use water judiciously.
Meanwhile, the rise in water levels has more or the less put the lid on a proposal to spend over Rs.4 crore to lay pipes and draw water from the Neyyar dam to the Aruvikkara reservoir. Some officials had termed the proposal ‘outrageous’ as the costly step as the ‘additional water supply’ would last only less than a week. The scheme had been put on hold also because of the Forest Department’s stringent opposition to the laying of pipes through the Neyyar forest region, which they said would require permission from the Union government.
With the rain continuing to push the water level up in the Peppara dam, the top brass of KWA, which was divided on the Neyyar dam proposal, had been moving slow on pursuing permission from the Centre, sources said.
