The Hindu : Metro Water Board may increase supply

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Metro Water Board may increase supply

By M. L. Melly Maitreyi

HYDERABAD OCT.11. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has suspended pumping from the city reservoirs as drinking water to the twin cities now could be supplied through natural gravity because of the improved storage capacity in the reservoirs since last few days.

Disclosing this to The Hindu, the Managing Director of HMWS&SB M. G. Gopal, said though the Board was now maintaining the supply of 138 MGD, there has been demand from municipalities to increase the quantum of supply. "We will be monitoring the supply in different municipalities and reallocate the supplies. Perhaps we will be able to step up supplies from the present 138 MGD to 140 MGD, as the present storage capacity of all the four reservoirs is 27 tmc as against 19 tmc during the same period last year. We will start pumping again if the situation demands it," he said

He said there have been complaints from municipal areas like Uppal that even now water was being released once in six days. Measures would be taken to ensure supplies to surrounding municipalities on par with the areas in the MCH limits, he said.

Reiterating that water level in all the reservoirs was much better compared to that of last year, he said no new borewells would be sanctioned because of improvement in supply position. Besides there had been even rainfall this year and the water table of all existing borewells has slightly gone up.

Following is the present storage capacity of four reservoirs compared to that of last year: Osmansagar (1.28 tmc, last year 0.29 tmc), Himayatsagar (1.38 tmc, last year 0.89 tmc), Singur (23 tmc, last year 16 tmc), Manjira (1.462 tmc, last year 1.42 tmc).

The real challenge would, however, be to bring 45 mgd Krishna waters to city by March 31 next year as envisaged under the Krishna Water Supply Project what with the water level in Nagarjunasagar, particularly in the Puttamgandi reservoir from where the water would have to be drawn for the project. If there is no improvement in the water level, water will have to be pumped and not be drawn by gravity.

Mr. Gopal, however, explained that the prospect of pumping water in a drought year had been taken into account while planning the Rs. 820-crore Stage-I of Phase-I project. Besides there is already a plan to draw water directly from Sunkesula reservoir as a permanent arrangement instead of Madhava Reddy canal as in the initial phases and the initial expenditure to be incurred by the Board for pumping has already been factored and estimated in the final cost.

It may be mentioned here that in the stage-2 of Phase I, an independent intake tower would be constructed in the foreshore of Nagarjunasagar at Sunkesula and raw water would be pumped to the Water Treatment Plant at Kodandapur at a cost Rs. 150 crores. It would be a permanent arrangement for drawing required raw water of 5.5 tmc from Nagarjunasagar, river Krishna, to the Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project.

"We are hopeful that under the impact of cyclone induced rain, the situation may improve for the Krishna Water Supply Project too," Mr. Gopal said.

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