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Water Supply

Water released from Khadakwasla dam into Mutha right canal

Friday, 03 August 2012 06:43 administrator
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The Times of India    03.08.2012

Water released from Khadakwasla dam into Mutha right canal

PUNE: The irrigation department on Thursday started releasing water from Khadakwasla dam into the Mutha right bank canal which supplies water to Pune city.

The Khadakwasla dam is almost filled to capacity as the storage reached 94.08% on Thursday afternoon. The water is being released at the rate of 1300 cusecs (1 cusec= 28.317 liters per second) and it will continue for the next seven days.

Meanwhile, collective storage in four dams that supply water to Pune city increased to 13.08 TMC (44.86% of total storage capacity) on Thursday evening.

"Storage in Khadakwasla is more than 90% of its capacity. So we decided to discharge water into the canal which will enable the Pune Municipal Corporation to lift additional water for the city. Besides, it will also benefit smaller cities like Daund and Indapur," said S N Bolbhat, executive engineer of Khadakwasla irrigation division.

Bolbhat said the discharge will continue at the same rate for the next seven days. A decision on further release will depend on the amount of rainfall in catchment areas in the coming week, he said.

The collective water storage in four dams reached the city's annual drinking water quota of 11.50 TMC on Wednesday. The storage increased further by 1.53 TMC in the last 24 hours as rains continued in catchment areas. By Thursday evening, Panshet dam had 45.94% water; Varasgaon 40.89% and Temghar 29.64%.

Bolbhat said that catchment areas of dams registered heavy rainfall in the last four days which resulted in significant increase in water storage. Among the four dams, Varasgaon received the highest rainfall (26 mm) on Thursday. Panshet and Temghar received 25 mm each, Khadakwasla recorded 12 mm.

Officials, however, pointed out that the intensity of rain in catchment areas was reduced on Thursday as compared to last two days. Temghar, Panshet and Varasgaon have recorded more than 1,200 mm rainfall since June.

WATER STORAGE IN FOUR DAMS

Dam Water storage Thursday's rainfall (6am to 6pm) Rainfall since June

Temghar 1.10 TMC (29.64%) 26 mm 1,355 mm

Varasgaon5.23 TMC (40.89%)25 mm 1,316 mm

Panshet4.89 TMC (45.94%)25 mm 1,207 mm

Khadakwasla1.86 TMC (94.08%)12 mm 267 mm

Total 13.08 TMC (44.86% of total collective capacity 

Last Updated on Friday, 03 August 2012 06:47
 

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation awaits cloud seeding report

Friday, 03 August 2012 06:26 administrator
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The Times of India   03.08.2012

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation awaits cloud seeding report

MUMBAI: The BMC will take a final call on cloud seeding next week, after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) submits feasibility data.

On Thursday, the civic body organised a video-conference at the Bandra-Kurla Complex office of Mekorot-Israel's national water company-on the possibility of cloud seeding to induce artificial rain in the catchment areas of two of the six lakes that supply water to Mumbai. Also present at the conference were officials from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorlogy (IITM) and the IMD. The BMC plans to rope in Mekorot for the project.

"The firm will provide aircraft, manpower and equipment for cloud seeding," said additional municipal commissioner Rajiv Jalota. "But we have to wait for a report from the IMD, which is studying cloud cover with satellite imagery. The IMD will also tell us if their radar will be good enough for us to use in our cloud seeding experiment. It will let us know all this next week."

Jalota said that after the video-conference, the modalities about the experiment were discussed with Mekorot, which is known for its expertise in cloud seeding. IITM has informed the civic body that Israel has extensively developed the technology and have been using it for over 50 years. Last year, the BMC signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel's water and energy department. In 2009, the BMC conducted 160 trials on cloud seeding, but failed.

If the feasibility report turns out to be positive, the experiment will be conducted in the Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna catchments. "As for Modak Sagar and Tansa, they are very near the overflow mark," Jalota said.

The experiment will involve airplanes sprinkling sodium chloride or silver iodide crystals on clouds to induce precipitation and subsequently rain. The base for the planes will be the Ozar airfield in Nasik.


Last Updated on Friday, 03 August 2012 06:29
 

RMC seeks Rs 300-cr relief for thirsty Rajkot

Thursday, 02 August 2012 10:26 administrator
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The Indian Express  02.08.2012

RMC seeks Rs 300-cr relief for thirsty Rajkot

To cope up with acute water crisis in the region, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has asked for a relief package to the tune of Rs 300 crore. The sum will be used to supply water through tankers, revive bore wells in Wanakner area and maintain existing water connections.

The proposal submitted by the RMC authorities to the state government will be forwarded to the central government that is expected to release relief package for drought affected areas soon. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is also scheduled to take two-day visit of the state later this week.

“The relief package has been determined keeping requirements of the city in mind with population over 13 lakh,” said RMC Commissioner Ajay Bhadoo, adding, “While RMC needs around Rs 180 crore for short-term requirements, Rs 120 crore will be required for long-term projects.”

The short-term plans include reviving Wanakner Bore Wells project — with over 100 bores in reserved forest area of Wankaner that provided water to the city a decade back during drought years — and also a waive off from Narmada water bill.

Narmada water supply bill for this year, which RMC is expected to pay to the state government, is around Rs 62 crore.“The RMC is expecting the government to waive off Narmada water bill this year,” Bhadoo said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 02 August 2012 10:28
 
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