Neither the drastic improvement in the water levels of Singur and Manjeera reservoirs nor the adequately recharged lakes of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar are going to bring back that elusive daily water supply to the city of Hyderabad.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) will use the leeway for the twin relief of being able to supply water to newer areas, and making good the losses suffered owing to expensive pumping through Godavari Phase-I till now.
The twin reservoirs of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar have received inflows in abundance compared to the same time previous year. Osmansagar now has 2.068 tmcft of water against last year’s 0.096 tmcft, while Himayatsagar has 0.696 tmcft against last year’s 0.386 tmcft.
Singur reservoir has almost filled to the brim, with 28.911 tmcft of water for the total capacity of 29.917 tmcft, while Manjeera has up to1.374 tmcft for the 1.5 tmcft capacity.
As of now, no decision has been taken about either increase of the quantity of water supplied or about daily supply, officials from the Board have informed.
“The situation is comfortable for daily supply of water. But it is a policy decision to be taken by the ministry and not within the purview of the Board,” says a senior official of the Board, on the condition of anonymity.
Priority is to improve supply to peripheral municipalities which have either not been receiving drinking water or receiving paltry supplies.
Managing Director of the HMWSSB M. Dana Kishore informed that the additional availability of water will be used to bring down the expensive pumping from Godavari Phase-I.
Earlier, of the 355 MGD (million gallons per day) of water pumped to the city, 280 MGD was from Krishna Phase I, II and III, and 85 MGD from Godavari Phase I.
Now, part of the burden, amounting to 120 MGD, has been shifted to Singur and Manjeera reservoirs, Mr. Dana Kishore explained. Works for new pipelines being laid to peripheral areas, including Qutbullahpur, Alwal, Serilingampally, L.B.Nagar, and Kukatpally, will be finished within the next five to six months’ time, and the surplus water needs to be stored for supply to these areas, he said.
Though inflows into Osmansagar and Himayatsagar have considerably improved, the lakes are yet to reach the full tank level. Existing water will be preserved for emergency requirements, as the twin reservoirs are the nearest sources to the city. They also are the main sources of groundwater recharge, Mr. Dana Kishore said.
