HYDERABAD: Incessant rain may have dampened the spirits of farmers, but have certainly brought back smiles on the faces of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) officials. They are now confident that Greater Hyderabad will not have to worry about drinking water till summer 2015 when the Krishna phase-III works will be completed. With the city and catchment areas recording heavy downpour on August 28 and 29, water levels have increased significantly in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, which serve nearly half the Old City. According to HMWS&SB officials, the recorded water level at Himayatsagar on Saturday was 1,749 feet against full tank level (FTL) of 1,763 feet, an increase of five feet in the past few days. The fresh inflows in Himayatsagar can serve areas covered by the reservoir for five months (till January). At Osmansagar, however, the water level increased by just a feet, which could be adjusted for a month. We are hoping more rains this week, HMWS&SB director- technical, S Prabhakar Sharma told STOI. On the other hand, there is enough water now at other drinking water sources like Singur, Manjira, Akkampally (Krishna phase-I &II) and Nagarjunasagar. In the three sources, the water levels are satisfactory and we can serve the city and peripheral municipal circles up to end of the 2015 summer, he said. At present, the water board has been supplying 340 million gallons of water per day (MGD), including 40 MGD from the twin reservoirs, to the city, the official added. The HMWS&SB has speeded up its effort to commission the Krishna phase-III by January/ February. The Krishna phase-III would add another 90 MGD of water to the city and peripheral municipal circles. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has asked the water board officials during a recent review meeting to commission the Krishna phase-III before the onset of summer. The CM asked officials concerned to submit reports every week on the progress of the Krishna phase-III work. Currently, there is a huge demand for tankers. We never experienced such high demand even during peak summer. The water board has been operating nearly 750 tankers and plying around 5,000 trips per day, a senior water board official said. The officials hope the rain would improve groundwater levels too so that demand for tankers would come down.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:41:32 +0000
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