Water levels in major Telangana projects under strict watch

The storage levels in Nagarjuna Sagar in Krishna basin and Sripada Yellampalli in Godavari basin are under close observation as the two projects play a crucial role in supporting the water supply system for a major part of the State as well as the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Hyderabad: The water levels in all key projects in the State are being strictly monitored due to the impending summer and potential water scarcity. As there is significant depletion in the Krishna basin projects, the State has focused its attention to optimum utilisation of the scarce reserves.

The storage levels in Nagarjuna Sagar in Krishna basin and Sripada Yellampalli in Godavari basin are under close observation as the two projects play a crucial role in supporting the water supply system for a major part of the State as well as the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

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Despite proactive measures being initiated to ensure that adequate drinking water supply, a shortfall of 26.31 MLD was observed in the towns and urban pockets in the State. The supply in 142 towns is stated to be in the order of 1371 MLD as against the requirement of 1398 MLD.

Khammam and Karimnagar corporations are said to be experiencing a shortage in water supply.

The water level in the Nagarjuna Sagar Project was close to the Minimum Draw Down level of 510 ft. The project is left with less than six TMC to meet emergency needs. Another five to six TMC could be pumped out from the project by drawing water up to the depth of 505 ft to meet emergency needs as was the case in 2016.

The crucial meeting of the KRMB three-member committee on April 12 will decide sharing of the water still available in the project by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The water level in Srisailam also dipped to 809.60 ft as against the MDDL (which is 834 ft for power generation and 854 ft for Irrigation).

The Jurala project has been left with 3.11 TMC against the gross capacity of 9.66 TMC. The Almatti project in Karnataka, which the State is looking forward to in hope of getting emergency releases with the concurrence of Karnataka government has been left with some 35 TMC.

As for the Godavari basin projects, the Sripada Yellampalli project has been left with 7.29 TMC. The State authorities are relying much on the project to support the drinking water supply in Hyderabad till the monsoon sets in. The Singur and Sriram Sagar projects have 17 and 12.64 TMC as part of their present storage, which was much less compared to water available in the two projects on the same day last year. Water levels in Mid Manair and Lower Manair projects are maintained at seven and five TMCs respectively after catering to the needs in the command area.