The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Worst drinking water crisis likely in southern districts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 27, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Worst drinking water crisis likely in southern districts

By S. Sundar

MADURAI, JAN.26. The southern districts are heading for one of the worst drinking water crises this summer.

The storages in the Periyar and Vaigai reservoirs present a bleak situation.

While the minimum required supply from the Vaigai dam to the five districts for the next five months till June is 675 mcft, the residual storage in the dams, after irrigating the standing crops, could be less than 400 mcft, sources said.

The water managers have to store 375 mcft in the Vaigai dam for maintaining alternate day piped supply for Madurai city and 300 mcft for river-wetting to recharge the 100-odd infiltration wells in the districts of Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar.

While the storage in the Periyar dam is 1312 mcft, it is just 781 mcft in Vaigai dam.

Periyar Dam

The useful storage in the Periyar dam is just over 500 mcft and nearly 300 mcft is required for irrigating the Cumbum valley.

"Even if we draw the remaining 200 mcft, only just over 50 per cent of the water would reach the Vaigai dam," a Public Works Department official said.

Vaigai dam

The fourth turn of release from the Vaigai dam for irrigation that began on January 22 is likely to nullify the entire Periyar credit (Periyar dam water stored in Vaigai dam) of 387 mcft. "Even this would not be sufficient to save the entire standing crop. Farmers have already started squirming our (Periyar-Vaigai Basin Circle) office with requests for additional release," he said.

The remaining 394 mcft in the Vaigai dam (the Vaigai credit) is meant for Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts. And the administration of those districts would like to store this water to meet the acute water crisis during the peak summer, for replenishing the infiltration wells through river wetting.

While the ground water situation in areas where active irrigation has been going on for the past three months would be in a better position, those areas away from the river, especially, Tirumangalam, Kalligudi, partly Usilampatti and Avaniyapuram would be badly affected. Apart from the peak summer season of March, April and May, the wind season of June would create acute water scarcity, the official said.

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