The Times of India 10.09.2009
PCMC plans to build 28 reservoirs
PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will be constructing 28 water reservoirs in various localities to increase water storage capacity so that the essential commodity can be supplied for 24 hours day.
Municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma while explaining the logic behind constructing such large number of water tanks, said, "The PCMC lifts 340 MLD water from Pavana river at Ravet. It purifies this water at the plants in Nigdi and then supplies it as drinking water. Water is supplied only if there is pumping of water from the purification plants. There are very few water storage reservoirs in the township. If the people want to have 24x7 water supply then we need to store water in tanks which can be supplied to the residents even if there is no pumping of water."
Sharma said, "In Phase I of water supply approved under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM) scheme, the PCMC has included projects of Pavana dam - Nigdi water pipeline and water supply scheme for the newly merged vilages. The union government has now approved phase II of water supply plan which has a total expenditure of Rs 140 crore. The PCMC will be increasing the internal water supply network, constructing water reservoirs and increasing the transmission network under the phase II of water supply."
He said, "The union government will bear 50 per cent of the total expenditure, the state will bear 20 percent while the PCMC will bear 30 percent of the total expenditure. In foreign countries the cities have built a large storage capacity due to which they can store water that will be sufficient for them for five to six days. We also need to have large storage capacity so that the water can be supplied whenever needed."
Speaking to TOI on Wednesday, Ambadas Chavan, additional city engineer and chief of water supply department, PCMC said, "The PCMC will be constructing a total of 28 water reserrvoirs in phase I and II of the JNNURM scheme. The construction of water tanks has to be completed by March 2011."
