Yellampalli water levels dip; pumping might be stopped soon

The Yellampalli project plays a crucial role in supplying drinking water to Hyderabad. The HMWSSB draws water from the Yellampalli reservoir to meet the city’s needs.

Hyderabad: Pumping operations from Sripadada Yellampalli reservoir taken up 10 days ago to support the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) ayacut, are likely to be hit any time on account of the declining inflows. It is going to be a frustrating experience for farmers as they needed irrigation support the most at this crucial hour to go for paddy transplantation.

The Yellampalli project plays a crucial role in supplying drinking water to Hyderabad. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) draws water from the Yellampalli reservoir to meet the city’s needs. It is mandatory to maintain at least 14 tmc of water as part of the storage at Yellampalli for its needs under any circumstances. The present storage in the project, as on Thursday, dipped to 13.35 TMC. It has a gross storage capacity 20 TMC, but did not receive adequate inflows after the onset of monsoons.

---

The inflows, which were in the order of some 17000 cusecs when the pumping operations were resumed from the Nandi Medaram pump house, had also come down to 7477 cusecs. The net realisation at Mid Manair Reservoir is little over 7000 cusecs.

Multiple reservoirs that have been integrated with the KLIS distribution network are waiting for water releases from Mid Manair to support the Kharif operations. It had received hardly five TMCs of water from Yellampalli in the last 10 days and it would be hard on its party to feed the multiple reservoirs waiting for water release. In case of a further drop in the inflows into Yellampalli, the pumping operations are likely to be suspended. Though the KLIS scheme is design to lift two TMCs a day, the present operations were yielding only one fourth of it.

The only option left for the irrigation officials to support the KLIS ayacut is to wait for adequate inflows from upper reaches of Godavari river. The scope for pumping water from Medigadda barrage was ruled out by the government.

“We are hopeful that Godavari catchment in Maharashtra would receive good rainfall in the next two weeks. It would help bring good inflows into all the Godavari basin projects,” said a senior Irrigation official, adding that otherwise, they would have to knock the doors of the NDSA once again asking it for a way out.

“If we have to choose between irrigation and drinking water to be supported, the latter needs to be given precedence,” he said.