Carrying out repairs to Yeleru Left Main Canal closing it for a month proved more efficacious than expected with the yield improving by 16%.
Of the 174 MGD water released from the Yeleru reservoir and the Godavari lift scheme, the water released at the Kaniti Balancing Reservoir was 94 MGD -- 54% -- this summer after repairs. Comparatively, last summer the receipt was 62 MGD when 162 MGD was released -- 38%.
After the month-long repairs from March 1, leakages from the structures on the Varaha and the Sarpa rivers were arrested resulting in an additional 10 MGD being realised and the other 18 minor structures also contributed their bit.
In the last summer, only 13 MGD was taken from the Yeleru reservoir and the Godavari scheme and the rest of the requirement was met from the Meghadrigedda reservoir (MGR).
This year, 29 MGD was being taken to meet the needs of the GVMC and eight MGD was pumped to MGR as buffer and is drawn from it regularly, according to sources.
Though the improvement expected was between 10% and 15% going beyond the average of 12.5% and maximum of 15% and touching 16% augurs well for the industry as well as domestic consumption, sources point out.
Supply to VSP
The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is receiving 45 to 50 MGD a day and its storage reservoir is almost full. Besides its daily consumption, it has been storing water all along. Consequently, the pumping from the Yeleru reservoir was reduced from 320 cusecs to 250 cusecs from Sunday.
The other industries -- NTPC and APIIC -- and Rural Water Supply are also getting water for consumption as well as storage, it is learnt.
