JICA scheme may benefit region’s water table

Dependence on traditional water sources may come down

Besides meeting the water requirements of more than a dozen panchayats and the Kozhikode Corporation limits, the recently commissioned Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided drinking water scheme is also believed to have its “positive implications” on the water table of the region once the multi-crore project becomes fully operational.

The scheme would have encouraging effects on the groundwater level since it is expected to significantly reduce the pressure on the existing amount of groundwater, said N.B. Narasimha Prasad, executive director of The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) here.

“When so much of piped water is in distribution, people’s dependence on traditional sources, including domestic wells, will come down and that will help water table to remain relatively stable,” said Dr. Narasimha Prasad, who is also a surface-water expert.

Grey water effect

The possibility of increased volume of domestic waste water (grey water) being drained to the earth from thousands of houses in the region as a result of the project can also have its favourable impact on the water table. “Though minimal, such possibility of a recharging also cannot be ruled out,” he said.

The JICA-aided drinking water scheme commissioned by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Kozhikode on February 27 is envisaged to make 174 mld (Million Litre per Day) of drinking water available to the region in its first phase.

Around 282 mld has been calculated as the water requirement of the region for the next 20 years.

At present, around 72 mld of water is being distributed in the city limits from a KWA pumping station at Koolimadu, near Mavoor. The JICA project will have another treatment plant with 36-mld capacity coming up in its second phase in the district.

The increased availability of drinking water can also lead to an increased level of wastage of water.

P.S. Harikumar, Head, Water Quality Division, CWRDM, said a comprehensive action plan would have to be put in place on how to use the domestic waste-water more constructively.

“We should also explore the possibilities of using the waste water for recharging the groundwater after treating it,” he said.