Coimbatore Corp Too Happy
The Coimbatore Corporation seems only too happy to consider the depression in the Bay of Bengal as a Deepavali gift for the city and the suburbs that are dependent on the Siruvani drinking water scheme.
The reason is that the water level in the dam has risen by a foot in a little over a week because of heavy rain. “We have only six feet to go for the storage to touch the full reservoir level (67 ft),” Mayor R. Venkatachalam said on Friday. “If the rain continues, we can hope for the storage to touch the full reservoir level in a few days after Deepavali,” he said. “The dam and the catchments have been receiving good rain since October 18 and there is a steady inflow from the falls that bring water from the upper reaches of the Siruvani hills,” the Mayor explained. Surplus water from the Mukthikulam in the upper reaches of the hills reached the dam through the falls.
“Reports from the dam on Friday say that there is a thick cloud cover and continuous rain,” the Mayor said. “Even if there is no heavy rain, the cloud cover helps as it eliminates the evaporation that takes place during a sunny day. We need every drop of the water that the dam has.” The situation at the dam helped the Corporation use 65 million litres, out of the 80 millions litres taken from the dam every day. The rest was distributed among local bodies in the suburbs, including three municipalities, and the habitations along the Siruvani main supply line.
“The depression has come to our rescue, after the South West Monsoon failed us this time,” the Mayor said. “Normally, the Siruvani scheme does not benefit much from the North-East Monsoon. The maximum amount of water is got only if the South West Monsoon is good. So, this time, the depression is timely.”
Good inflow in the Pilloor Dam enabled the maintaining of the level at 94 ft, as against the full reservoir level of 100 ft. “Our major concern with regard to the Siruvani Dam is the accumulation of silt. There is already three ft of silt in the dam. And, more silt keeps coming with the inflow through the falls,” he said.
