JOIN USCrisis looms large as water levels dip at Almatti, KRS
Crisis looms large over towns and cities which depend for their drinking water needs on two key reservoirs in the State. The Almatti dam in Bagalkot district and the KRS dam in Mandya district have almost hit the dead storage level, sending panic waves among the people.
The maximum water level in the Almatti reservoir is 519.6 metres, while the level recorded on Tuesday was 506.92 metres, just above the dead storage level of 506.87 metres. The water storage in the dam is now 17.72 tmc metres, slightly above the dead storage volume of 17.62 tmc metres.
The alarming situation has hit drinking water supply in many places. Water is now being supplied through the sluice gates, below the crest gates, meant to push out silt. Bijapur gets water from Kolhara, which is in the backwaters of the Almatti dam. Drinking water supply will be difficult for the city, if the dam water plunges below 505.2 metres. But authorities are taking contingency measures.
In the days to come, supplying water may become difficult to the jackwells that pump water to places around the Almatti bridge, Yelagur, Talikot, Muddebihal, Ilkal, Hungund and their surrounding villages.
Water supplied through the sluice gates can take care of the needs of the Raichur thermal power plant and villages in the vicinity of the dam.
But authorities in the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited say they are confident of overcoming the crisis by pumping water from dead storage. Last year too, three tmc feet of dead storage water had been utilised, they said. It may not be much of a problem for areas that depend on the jackwells which get their supply from the backwaters, where there is water always, they say.
‘Not an easy situation’
For areas depending for their water needs on the KRS reservoir, the situation is not that easy. Mysore, for example, is already facing a crisis for the last few days. Most areas in the city have received no supply in the past one week.
However, hope floats, with authorities deciding to release two tmc feet of water to the KRS dam from the Hemavathy dam in Hassan district. The water may take three to four days to reach KRS. The water supply is likely to improve thereafter.
The KRS dam level plunged to 64.17 feet on Tuesday against the actual capacity of 124.80 feet. The inflow was 1,598 cusecs, while the outflow was 675 cusecs. The reservoir is fast reaching the dead storage level of 60 feet.
To facilitate supply once the water level reaches dead storage, the Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW) has taken up works to lay a pipeline to draw water from the river bed (dead storage). A huge rock located in the path of the pipeline is being removed. At Hongalli station, two 245 BHP motors are being operated to supply water to the Belagola pumping station.
The Devaraya Canal from which water flows to Belagola was earlier leaking at places owing to the alleged diversion of water by farmers to their crops.
The VVWW authorities, in coordination with the Mandya police, have erected sandbags to plug the leakages. A dedicated squad of Vani the Vilas Water Works engineers and the police are keeping vigil, to thwart attempts to remove the sandbags, if any. Mysore city is receiving 150 MLD (million litres per day) of water, against 200 MLD earlier.
Good news
There is good news, however, for the city as water is being supplied to the Devaraya Canal, through a sluice in the Sethi Katte barrage. No flow in the Canal had triggered a water crisis in Mysore last week.
A total of 50 cusecs is flowing into the Canal since Monday. The water then flows to the Belagola pump house, from where it reaches Mysore.