Rains fail to fill city’s drinking water bowls Water Crisis Looms As O’sagar, Himayatsagar Record Poor Inflows

Hyderabad: The city is all set to usher in New Year 2013 with a major drinking water crisis. Worried over the lack of inflows into the reservoirs despite heavy rains during the last few weeks, Hyderabad water board officials said by January next year, they may be forced to resort to supplying drinking water once in five days. At present, the supply is every alternate day. Normally, the city faces a crisis only with the onset of summer.
    While the city recorded heavy rainfall during the last many weeks, there has been no major improvement in the water levels at the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar that together account for 41.5 million gallons daily (MGD) of the total 344.81 MGD that the water board is able to supply. In June this year, the water level at Osmansagar was 1769.8 feet. On October 1, the water level there was 1771.8 feet, an increase of a mere 2 feet. Similarly, in Himayatsagar, the water level in June was 1743.3 feet and on October 1, it was 1,747.4 feet, an increase of about 4 feet. In October 2011, the water levels at Osmansagar and Himayatsagar were 1781.9 feet and 1754.9 feet respectively.
    Water board officials attributed the lack of inflows into the reservoirs to a spurt in the number of illegal constructions in catchment areas, because of which the flow of water to the reservoirs is blocked, as well as lack of rainfall in upstream areas. “Apart from lack of rainfall in upstream areas, several illegal constructions have come up on the shore and catchment areas of both Osmansagar and Himayathsagar,” HMWS&SB chief general manager, transmission, V Visweswaraiah told TOI.
    In fact, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), that surveyed and submitted a report to the Hyderabad water board six months ago, on the steps to be taken to protect the two reservoirs, said the boundaries should be demarcated to protect the area of lakes and stop encroachments. Lakes falling prey to encroachers
Hyderabad: National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), too, has advocated strict implementation of GO 111 issued by the state in 1996 to preserve the catchment areas of both the reservoirs. “However, save constituting a high-powered committee in September this year, little has been done to clear the catchment areas of encroachments,” said an official. “Call it the effect of rampant urbanization with all sorts of constructions — both authorized and unauthorized — everywhere which has affected the natural flow of water into these lakes,” said an analyst.
    In view of the impending water crisis, officials said drinking water will be supplied with the help of pump sets from the reservoirs till November. “If the situation does not improve, we will be forced to resort to supplying water once in five days from January next year,” an official added.