Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Mar 17: The city of Mangaluru faced drinking water scarcity in the past two years. Last year the situation was worse as the water level in the Thumbay vented dam went down to 4.3 meters from a capacity of 5 meters. However, this year the situation is much better as the level of water has been raised. So the chances of the scarcity of water in the city this year are very remote.
The height of the vented dam has been raised to 6 meters this year. As of now, the water storage has been done to a height of 5.59 meters. This means that this year there is excess water of 1.28 meters compared to last year.
Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has informed the public that there should not be any worry of water rationing till mid-April.
File photo
The only glitch in this otherwise foolproof arrangement is the scorching heat of the summer sun. If the intensity of the heat, which is present now, continues for a month or so, then there is a chance of the water in the dam getting evaporated. The water lifting for the 'Rural drinking water scheme' for Bantwal and the stoppage of inflow of water in Nethravati River may also cause the level of water to drop in the Thumbay dam. If such a situation occurs, there is a plan to fill water from the nearby AMR Power Pvt Ltd dam also.
In the year 2016, water was supplied to the city of Mangaluru only on alternate days from January 1 itself. In the year 2017, there reduction in the supply of drinking water to the city was started on March 20. The water used to be supplied nonstop for 48 hours and then the supply was stopped for further 36 hours.
"As per the information available now, there are no plans of rationing of water to the city till the mid of April. Further action will be taken after analyzing the availability of water at that time. When we see the present water situation, the possibility of scarcity is there," said, Mohammed Nazeer, commissioner of Mangaluru city corporation (MCC).
With the present Thumbay vented dam capacity, water can be supplied to the city unabated for around 60 days. The present capacity of the tank is 10.83 million cubic meter (MCM). If the height is raised to 7 meters from the present 6 meters, then the dam can hold 14.73 MCM water.
At present, a decision is taken at the meeting convened by the district commissioner, not to reduce the supply of water to industries. At present, 160 million litres of water per day (MLD) is being supplied to the city of Mangaluru.
Though there is no imminent shortage of water scarcity in the city, it is the duty of every citizen to see that water is not wasted. Also, there is need to bring any leakage or damage of water pipe to the notice of the MCC authorities to preserve the water so that it lasts for the whole summer season.