The small amounts of rain almost every evening for the last fortnight has led to a small inflow of water into the Swarna at the Baje dam, from where drinking water is supplied to Udupi city.
The Swarna takes its birth in the Western Ghats and passes by Karkala town, where a dam is constructed against it at Mundli, and from there it flows downstream to Shiroor, Baje, Manipal, Shimbra, and then joins the Arabian Sea.
There are two dams against the Swarna — one at Baje, about 18 km from here called the Swarna First Stage, and another upstream at Shiroor, about 22 km from here, called the Swarna Second Stage.
However, water is pumped from the dam at Baje and purified at the water purification station there before being supplied to the city.
The improvement in the water level could be gauged by the fact that last year by this time, the dam recorded the dead storage level. Butm on May 16, 2018, the water level in the dam stood at 3.6 metres.
“The dam at Mundli is full, water is overflowing from there. Hence, there is a small inflow into the Swarna at Baje. A few more spells of rainfall will further improve the situation,” K. Raghavendra, Environment Engineer at Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC), told The Hindu .
The water level in the dam is enough to meet the water requirements of the city for the next 15 days. Usually, the South-West monsoon hits the district in the first week of June, and water scarcity during the summer months comes to an end.
With the result, the CMC officials hope that there would be no need for water rationing in the city this time. “We are not planning any alteration in water supply; the present system will continue,” Mr. Raghavendra said.
The drinking water problem arises only during the summer as the Swarna goes dry during this period and water stored in the Baje reservoir is supplied to the city.
