With a long summer ahead and the yield from the city’s main water sources dwindling, the Tiruchi City Corporation is gearing to meet the requirements over the next three or four months by sinking six additional deep borewells on the Cauvery river bed.
Deep borewells are being sunk around the Kambarasampettai head works, one of the city’s main drinking water sources. The borewells are expected to yield about 10-12 million litres per day (MLD) and help the civic body tide over the current shortfall.
According to official sources, the Corporation had been supplying about 156-160 MLD in recent months and the yield from its water sources in the Cauvery and the Kollidam has fallen by more than 10 MLD. The yield from the Collector Well has been affected because of mud slide and restoration efforts were on, the sources indicated.
The Corporation has taken steps to channel the small stream of water flowing in the Kollidam to its water source on the river bed near Srirangam.
Over the years, the Corporation had resorted to such measures whenever the Cauvery and the Kollidam had gone dry. With the release of water for irrigation in the Cauvery being suspended early last year because of poor storage in the Mettur reservoir, the water sources downstream the river had not been recharged adequately. Water release from Mettur dam was suspended on October 10 last year and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had ordered release of water in February to save the standing samba crop in the delta district.
The Corporation is mulling restricting water supply to alternate days in the city (instead of the current daily supply) during summer and an announcement was expected shortly. The move is expected to usher in a sense of frugality in using drinking water among residents.
On Friday, Mayor M. Anbazhagan, accompanied by Corporation Executive Engineer K.S. Balasubramanian, and other officials inspected the progress of sinking the borewells at Kamabarasampettai.
Mr. Anbazhagan told The Hindu that work on sinking the borewells would be completed within a week and shortfall would be made up. A decision on introducing alternate day supply would be taken soon, he added.
