Hyderabad: This year’s bountiful rains make city lakes brim

This monsoon, Hyderabad’s tanks received abundant water, with 11 of 139 GHMC-maintained tanks overflowing. Continuous rains boosted groundwater levels but also led to overflow and minor damage in some colonies. GHMC officials said surplus water could last for two years

Hyderabad: Bountiful rains this monsoon season resulted in decades-old tanks in Hyderabad receiving surplus quantities of water this monsoon.

The GHMC Lakes Division, which maintains 139 tanks within its jurisdiction, compiled data on the status of these tanks recently. According to the data, officials observed that out of 139 tanks, 11 received surplus water, 118 received below full tank levels (FTLs), and the remaining 10 tanks reached up to FTLs.

Executive Engineer of the GHMC Lakes Division, A Narayana, said this year’s monsoon brought bountiful rains, resulting in surplus water in decades-old tanks across Hyderabad. Most of the tanks located in the city’s suburban areas experienced heavy rains from July onwards, continuing up to the last week of September, which caused them to reach the brim. These 139 tanks are located in Secunderabad, Kukatpally, Kapra, Amberpet, L B Nagar, Charminar, Rajendranagar, Saroornagar, and Seri Lingampally.

With the tanks at their FTLs, groundwater also increased automatically. The colonies abutting these tanks would benefit from the increased groundwater table, he said.

However, certain tanks, though filled, are stinking due to a lack of sewer line outlets. As a result, the tanks overflowed, resulting in the inundation of the colonies. The bund portions of tanks were also damaged. Thus, tanks overflowed and damaged the road network in the city.

The 11 tanks that received surplus water can store water for at least a couple of years, said the GHMC official.

11 tanks have reached surplus water levels against their FTLs:

Areas	Tank	FTL (in meters)	Water levels
Secunderabad	Nagireddy Kunta	563.015	563.315
L B Nagar	Oora Cheruvu	550.595	590.795
Kukatpally	Mysamma Cheruvu	551.350	551.450
Charminar	Pedda Cheruvu	517.745	517.945
Charminar	Pathi Kunta	526.342	526.542
Charminar	Mamidla Kunta	100.300	100.500
Charminar	Erra Kunta	539.550	539.650
L B Nagar	Large Kunta	488.710	489.060
Seri Lingampally	Gopi Cheruvu	100.000	100.120
Seri Lingampally	Chakalavani Cheruvu	100.000	100.100
Seri Lingampally	Nalagandla Cheruvu	100.000	100.100

 

(Source: GHMC Lakes Division Date)