With shortfall in water supply looming large, the GVMC is considering alternatives like reducing the quantum of water supply or switching to alternate day supply in parts of the city.
As of now after overcoming problems caused by a recent breach to Yeleru canal and technical problems in Tatipudi supply, the supply levels to the industry and domestic sectors hover around 56 million gallons a day (mgd).
All through the summer, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation had braced itself for a probable pumping of water from the Yeleru reservoir if it reaches the dead storage level. Though summer is behind it now, GVMC finds itself in a worse situation with no rain in the catchment areas of Yeleru, Tatipudi, Raiwada and Megadrigedda reservoirs.
Water level in Yeleru reservoir from which a 156 km canal supplies water to the city is at 73.96 m, close to the minimum water level of 68.8 m and worse than 80.51 m and 80.95 m on the corresponding days in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In the summer of 2010, water was pumped from Yeleru canal to overcome the water crisis besides imposing alternate day supply.
Lowest levels
“Between 30 and 45 days from now, if the inflows do not improve we have to resort to pumping of water from the dead storage level and arrangements are already made for it by the steel plant,” says a GVMC official indicating the gravity of the situation.
Besides, the shortage from the reservoir will be met by pumping water from the Kateru lift irrigation scheme on the Godavari near Rajahmundry.
Similarly levels in Raiwada (102.1 m), Thatipudi (274.8 ft) and Meghadrigedda (45.4 ft) are at the lowest compared to the last two years. Besides, Raiwada is meeting agricultural demand also.
In the worse case scenario, a shortfall of 10 mgd is expected.
To maintain supply to the city a 40 per cent cut in industrial supply might be necessitated. Besides, other proposals include digging four more industrial bore-wells in Madhurawada area in addition to the existing two so that supply from the Town Service Reservoir (TSR) there can be diverted to the other areas.
Alternate day supply in 10 per cent of the area and reducing supply from one hour and 45 minutes to half an hour are the other measures contemplated.
