Minister moots storing flood water

Karnataka is exploring a project that involves stockpiling floodwater for optimal usage later.

This is a plan Minor Irrigation Minister J C Madhuswamy has come up with, and he has asked the department to assess its feasibility.

The Cabinet on Friday cleared projects worth Rs 2,032 crore to fill up lakes in Shikaripura (Shivamogga), Jagalur (Davangere) and Bharamasagara (Chitradurga). Madhuswamy revealed his plan when asked where the government would get the water required to fill up the lakes.

"When I visited Ramdurg, I found that 17 out of 27 lakes were not filled up. All the flood waters went waste. Can’t we store this flood water?” Madhuswamy said.

"Say Krishna or Bhima rivers, when they are flooding, we can draw about 2-3 tmcft of water to a higher ground for storage, regardless of the cost. I have asked the department to explore this possibility,” he said.

"Take also for instance the Yettinahole project. Once the project happens, there’s only so much water that we can pump during floods. Instead, we can store the water and pump it (into lakes) later," he said, adding that the water can be stored for a year or two, which could help groundwater recharge as well.