HYDERABAD: With water levels in Krishna river (Nagarjunasagar), the main drinking water source to Greater Hyderabad reaching alarming levels, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), which installed 10 emergency pumps a few days ago, is likely to carry out trial runs from Monday to draw water from dead storage level.
For conducting trial run, Telangana Transco is expected to provide power connection to mini substation established near Puttamgandi on the foreshore of Nagarjunasagar on Monday. The trial run will be held for two days and will be ready for pumping the required quantity of 270 Million Gallons of Water Per Day (MGD) to Hyderabad from May 20.
Two days ago, the water board started emergency pumping to draw water from (Godavari Phase-1) at Yellampally barrage by installing submersible pumping equipment in the foreshore of the barrage. Godavari supplies 85 MGD of water to Hyderabad.
Krishna and Godavari together supplies 355 MGD of water to Hyderabad and enroute villages. The four drinking water sources Singur, Manjira, Himyatsagar and Osmansagar have gone dry and water supplies from these four water sources have been stopped several weeks ago.
HMWS&SB officials told Express that emergency pumping arrangements at Puttamgandi pumping station in Nalgonda district has been completed by installing 10 emergency pumping motors to draw water from dead storage level of Nagarjunasagar. The work costing around `7 crore was taken up under Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).
In Krishna (Nagarjunasgar), as against the full reservoir level of 590 feet, the present level is between 505-506 ft. If the water level falls beyond 504 ft, 10 emergency pumping motors would be pressed into Puttamgandi to draw water upto 496 ft.
If the monsoon gets delayed and water levels falls beyond 496 ft in Nagarjunasagar, the water board would be forced to go for second level emergency pumping arrangements, they added.
HMWS&SB managing director DS Lokesh Kumar on Saturday reviewed the emergency pumping arrangements at Puttamgandi for Krishna water and at Yellampally for Godavari water. The same thing was informed to the irrigation department to enable them for further releases from the reservoir. About two days ago, the water board started emergency pumping from Godavari by installing submersible pumping equipment in the foreshore of Yellampally barrage.
Till last week, HMWS&SB was supplying water from Yellampally barrage through the intake channel by gravity utilising the water above the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) from the available storage in the barrage. In view of depleting water levels, HMWS&SB has taken up emergency pumping operations.
As the water level has reached 138 metres, emergency pumps were put into operation for pumping water below MDDL to supplement the gravity flow into pump house. In view of the evaporation losses and regular drawls from the source, the water level depleted below the MMDL and the state government directed the water board to make necessary arrangements for drawl of water by emergency pumping.
The emergency pumping arrangement will facilitate to draw dead storage water from Yellampally barrage and the existing storage is sufficient up to end of June even if there are no fresh inflows into the reservoir.