SRIKAKULAM: On an average, not less than 50 tmcft of floodwater each from Vamsadhara and Nagavalai rivers go into the sea every year.
While about 52.252 tmc ft of water flowed into the sea in 2017 and 30.428 tmcft so far this year, that too only from Nagavlai river.
In 1990, as much as 222.570 tmcft of water flowed into the Bay of Bengal, the highest in the last 28 years from the Nagavali river.
Similarly, 156.590 tmcft of water flowed into the sea from the Nagavali in 1991, 218.370 tmcft in 1992. Although reservoirs and barrages were constructed to check wastage of water, still a lot of it continues to go into the sea every year.
Engineers of the Water Resources Department are planning to develop mini-reservoirs and widening of canals beside interlinking of major rivers in the district.
Similarly, not less than 50 tmcft of water is going into the sea every year from the Vamsadhara. As much as 58.522 tmcft of water has gone into the sea so far this year from the Vamsadhara river while 85.230 tmcft of water reached the sea in 2017. As much as 373.720 tmcft of water flowed into the sea in 1992, the highest in the last 28 years.
To arrest wastage of water, the government has started construction of various irrigation projects in the district.
“As part of the efforts to develop water resources in the district, the government has started constructing a reservoir in the Vamsadhara with a storage capacity of 19 tmcft of water,” said Surendra Reddy, the SE of Water Resources department.
Many mini-reservoirs are under construction in the district with a storage capacity of 20 tmcft. Similarly, interlinking of the Vamsadhara and the Nagavali rivers is also underway at a cost of Rs 85 crore.
A canal is proposed from Hiramandalam to Ichchapuram with which water can be supplied to irrigate 1.5 lakh acres in the district.
An offshore reservoir on the Mahendratanaya river is under construction at a cost of Rs 466.28 crore near Palasa while widening of left and right main canals of Gotta barrage was taken up at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore.