Water Level Dipped In Siruvani Dam
The intake tower in Siruvani dam which supplies drinking water to Coimbatore. The Coimbatore Corporation will be able to manage the drinking water supply situation despite the water level coming down in the Siruvani Dam, Mayor R. Venkatachalam said on Tuesday. The level on Tuesday was 34 ft as against the full reservoir level of 67.44 ft. It had gone below two of the four nozzles at the intake tower and this led to apprehensions of scarcity.The level on Tuesday was 34 ft as against the full reservoir level of 67.44 ft.
The Corporation claimed it could make the present alternate day supply without any cut in the quota of 70 million litres a day for more than 40 days. As if to make it more reassuring to the public, the Mayor said the city would not run into any scarcity. The Corporation was also hopeful of the South West Monsoon setting in on time around June 1. Sources in the civic body, however, felt that it would be a tight finish at the time of the monsoon setting in. One could not misunderstand the situation as one wherein the dam was half full.
The water spread area got narrow as the level came down. Therefore, wastage of water should be avoided. The sources pointed out that the water level in the Siruvani Dam kept coming down gradually. It was 35 ft just over a week ago and 39 ft on May 1. This was the situation every year because of a rain-dependent Siruvani scheme. The fear of a tight finish arose from the rise in demand for more water in the city because of more apartments coming up. Explaining the demand, the Mayor said: “For instance, apartments with 20 to 30 flats each have come up on plots that had just one large house in areas such as Ramnagar. So, the number of families has gone up substantially on one piece of land. This has led to heavy demand for drinking water. This is the case across the city.”
The Corporation was also focussing on preventing wastage of water through leaks in the supply lines. A water supply official said the leaks near the Sanganur Canal and on FCI Road had been plugged and supply had been restored. The Mayor called for stepping up rain water harvesting measures in order to raise the ground water level. In a letter to Corporation Commissioner V.K. Shanmugham, the Mayor said recharging the ground water table was necessary in the city.Efforts should be made to keep all rain water harvesting systems in good condition before the onset of the South West Monsoon, he said.
