Coimbatore Corporation is gearing up with alternative arrangements to pump in additional water from the Pilloor Water Supply Scheme to face the impending water scarcity in Siruvani scheme served areas.
With the Siruvani storage plummeting to a new low of 867.48 metres (Full Reservoir Level is 878.5 m), officials held a meeting to take stock of the situation and evolve plans to tide over the impending water scarcity.
The meeting was attended by Mayor S.M. Velusamy, Corporation Commissioner T.K. Ponnusamy, Deputy Commissioner S. Sivarasu, and engineers from Corporation and Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board.
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The meeting took note of the fact that the storage was the lowest ever in the last eight years since 2006. On the same day i.e. on January 3 in 2006, the storage was 877.54 m, it was 877.35 in 2007, 876.70 in 2008, 876.31 in 2009, 873.48 in 2010, 874.00 in 2011 and 876.35 in 2012. This was because of the scanty rainfall during South-West Monsoon (June to August) and inadequate showers in North-East Monsoon season (September to December) this year.
South-West Monsoon normally begins in June in Tamil Nadu but setting in of the monsoon in Kerala in May used to normally benefit the catchments of Siruvani.
However, the officials reposed confidence on the showers that Coimbatore had witnessed during summer over the last eight years.
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Summer showers
Statistics indicated that there had been summer showers in the months of January, February, March and April during the last eight years. Coimbatore used to witness showers in May indicating the beginning of South-West Monsoon.
The highest benefit of 110 mm on one day came from these summer showers.
At present, the drawl from Siruvani for the city was only 37.20 mld and at this rate there would be water in Siruvani only till February-end, the officials noted with concern. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board was also planning to have a sitting with Kerala soon to seek permission for drawl of water at permitted level during April and beginning of May.
However, the civic body is now making efforts to divert the 30 mld of water that it was getting from the Pilloor II scheme and efforts are on to augment the drawl in one more month by another 30 mld from the same scheme.
So the 60 mld of water will come in handy for the city’s water supply managers to tide over the shortfall from the Siruvani scheme during the peak summer.
Already, the works for linking the Pilloor scheme main service lines with the Siruvani service lines have been completed in many areas.
Works in respect of linking the Kannappa Nagar water pumping station with the Bharathi Park reservoir is under progress and will be completed by mid-February.
Similarly, efforts are on to install 250 KW and 500 KW generators in Aatu Pollachi under the Kurichi – Kuniamuthur scheme, and another 250 KW in Aatchipatti. Works are on for ensuring uninterrupted power supply to pumping stations at Kinathukkadavu and Kurichi. Another generator with a capacity of 82.50 KW had been installed at Kavundampalayam.
Proposals are under active consideration for linking the Ramakrishnapuram Pilloor Overhead Reservoir with Bharathi Park Siruvani reservoir by laying pipelines for 10.23 km at an outlay of Rs. 17.16 crore.
In addition, efforts are on to install generators and boosters in Kavundamapalayam – Vadavalli water supply scheme and also at 52 places at a cost of Rs. 2.25 crore besides sinking 37 borewells.
Officials at the end of the meeting said that while every effort was being made to avert an impending water scarcity, public co-operation was paramount in terms of exercising care in ensuring judicious use of drinking water by resorting to austerity measures.