Last year, Vellore’s three major reservoirs and several tanks filled up following the monsoon. Now, except for a few, water level has dwindled in a majority of the water bodies across the district.
Among the three dams in the district, only Mordhana Dam has 85 per cent water level. Against its storage capacity of 261.36 mcft, the dam has 220.28 mcft of water, according to officials of the Public Works Department (PWD).
The other two — Rajathoppu reservoir and Andiappanur Odai — have 10 per cent and 35 per cent water level respectively, an official said. The former has 2.12 mcft of water as against its storage capacity of 20.52 mcft while the latter has 38.6 mcft of water while its storage capacity is 112.20 mcft.
All the three reservoirs brimmed with water following the heavy rainfall in November last year.
There are 519 tanks maintained by the PWD in the district. Only four of these tanks are full. These tanks are Kanakanthangal, Boomasamuthiram, Veeranthangal, and Eranthangal in Katpadi taluk.
Three other tanks — Peruvalayam in Nemili taluk, Benduthangal in Katpadi taluk, and Tirupattur Big Tank — have 75 per cent water. Thirteen tanks have water for 50 per cent of their capacity, while 145 tanks had only 25 per cent water, officials said.
“All the remaining tanks are dry,” the official said. Last year, rains recharged more than 350 of the 519 tanks. Sadupperi, one of the biggest tanks in Vellore, had filled up following rains last year after more than two decades. Now, the tank has 50 per cent water, officials said.
The dwindling water level was mainly because of evaporation and seepage, the official said. “Some like Rajathoppu reservoir are a source of drinking water. But the drop in water level is no reason to worry,” he added.
Waiting for rains
The PWD has taken up several works ahead of the north-east monsoon. A senior official said that they were attending to areas that were affected last year.
“We have taken up dredging of channels for 140 km. About 60 to 70 per cent works have been completed, and the remaining works will be completed by the end of this month,” he said.
The department has handed over 500 km of channels to the Department of Rural Development for dredging work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme. The department had taken up repair work of sluices and shutters.
“We are readying material for floods at our section offices. Adequate number of sand bags is being kept ready,” he said.
