The Hindu 03.09.2010
Poor rainfall causes concern over Siruvani water position
K.V. Prasad
COIMBATORE: From cautious optimism, the mood in the city and suburbs is moving into scepticism over the prospects of the Siruvani Dam filling up this year.
The reason is the letdown that the South West Monsoon is proving to be, according to officials handling drinking water supply. First, the monsoon had a delayed onset; setting in only around the second week of July as against the normal time of second week of June.
Second, it withdrew after a few spells of moderate to negligible rainfall. And, when it revived in late August, there was hardly anything to cheer about.
The water level is around 30 feet as against the full reservoir level of nearly 50 ft. This level has been persisting for a week and the rainfall ranged from 7 mm to 15 mm between August 26 and 30. Since then, the highest rainfall was on Tuesday (August 31): 50 mm. This was the highest after the 75 mm on August 21.
Only torrential rain in the catchment and copious inflow through the falls can fill the dam.
The city is continuing with the alternate day supply that was restored during the World Classical Tamil Conference in late June.
The impact on supply may be felt only in February next year if the North-East Monsoon also turns out to be poor later this year, officials point out.
But they are hopeful that if the South West Monsoon raises the water level by 10 ft to 15 ft, the rest of the distance will be covered by the North-East Monsoon. This can help in managing the supply in the city till next summer. The Coimbatore Corporation is keen on completing the Pilloor Phase II scheme by March 31 next year. This will help in avoiding scarcity.
As for the suburbs, their dependence on the Siruvani scheme continues as some pipeline works are to be completed in the Aliyar and Bhavani drinking water schemes. The Kurichi Municipality laments that the supply of Siruvani water has come down by four lakh litres (from 3.9 million litres a day) because of the water position in the dam.
