It is December and that time of the year when water should be overflowing from the Siruvani Dam. But it is not. The water level in the reservoir as of December 2 is 1.31 ft above the dead storage level. The full reservoir level is 49.54 ft.
With the available water, the Coimbatore Corporation is getting around 40 million litres a day to be distributed to residents of 24 Wards. On the ground, this translates to water supply once in 10 days. On days when the water position at the reservoir is comfortable, the corporation gets close to 80 million litres a day.
Sources in the civic body said that with the available water, the corporation would be able to supply Siruvani water till December and thereafter continue the supply but only to five Wards. To the other 19 wards it would supply Pilloor water.
Only if this was done, the civic body would be able to continue supplying Siruvani water to the five Wards, the sources said.
Even after diverting Pilloor water to the 19 Siruvani-fed wards, the corporation should be able to manage the water needs of those in Pilloor-fed Wards as well, the sources said adding that the civic body drew close to 125 million litres a day of Pilloor water.
But this management at the distribution level in the city, will not make things comfortable for the water managers in the corporation. For, they expect the water to go well below the dead storage level in Siruvani by January 2017.
Thereafter, the TWAD Board will be forced to pump water and it can do so with the Kerala Government’s permission. Sources said that the board had done so in the past and this time too, if push comes to shove, it will talk to the Kerala Government.
In the added areas - Thudiyalur, Vellakinaru, Chinna Vedapatti, Vilankurichi, Saravanampatty and Kalapatti - the water supply is expected to be at the current level as the Corporation gets water from the board from the Pilloor-I scheme.
Sources said that they did not foresee any problem in supply to Kavundampalayam, Vadavalli, Kuruchi or Kuniamuthur either as water supply from the Kavundampalayam-Vadavalli and Aliyar schemes is good.
