The alternative pipeline would help the BWSSB pump water to the city even when the Handihalla Syphon is under repair. As the Handihalla Syphon is more than 30 years old, it needs frequent maintenance.

Nearly 1,800 MLD of water flows through the Handihalla Syphon from Shiva-Anicut to NBC, which is 12 km.

Around 900 MLD is diverted from the NBC to Shimsha Hydro Electric Project for power generation.

The remaining 900 MLD flows through gravity in a pipeline till Torekadanahalli, which is 9 km from NBC. The water is pumped to the city from Torekadanahalli through all the four stages of the Cauvery drinking water project. The new pipeline would run parallel to Handihalli Syphon from Shiva-Anicut. It will be connected to the existing pipeline at NBC.

“We are already laying a pipeline to supply 900 MLD of water to the Torekadanahalli Pumping Station from Shiva-Anicut in the Cauvery Stage IV Phase II project,” said a BWSSB official. “We are contemplating laying one more pipeline with similar capacity.” It “might take some time to lay the line as three-metre diameter pipes have to be manufactured to lay such a pipeline,” he added.