COIMBATORE: With water level in the Siruvani Dam inching towards the restricted reservoir level of 44.63 feet set by the Kerala water resources and irrigation department, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD)board officials plan to request authorities to initiate negotiations with Kerala and stop it from discharging water as the dam is the main drinking water source for Coimbatore city. As on Sunday evening, water level in the dam stood at 44.3ft.
Siruvani Dam, located deep inside the reserve forest of the Kalladikodan Hill and Muthikulam Hill in Palakkad district, is among the major sources of drinking water for Coimbatore city. The Kerala government has not allowed the water level to reach the FRL (full reservoir level) of 50 ft in the last nine years, allegedly citing safety of the structure as a concern.
Of Coimbatore city’s total drinking water requirement of 265 MLD, 101.40 MLD is supplied by the Siruvani Dam. As per an agreement that was entered into by the Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments on August 19, 1973, Kerala should supply 1.30 TMC annually (July 1 to June 30) to the erstwhile Coimbatore Municipal Town for 99 years.
The Kerala irrigation department is maintaining the water level in Siruvani Dam at a restricted reservoir level of 877.00m (44.61ft) instead of the FRL of 878.50m (49.53ft) as stipulated in the interstate agreement. Lowering the water level by 1.5m results in a shortage of 122.05 MCFT of water, which is 19% of the total storage. This creates difficulties in catering to the needs of Coimbatore city during summer.
Sources from TWAD, Siruvani division, told TNIE, “The dam is receiving good inflow thanks to incessant rainfall in the catchment areas. We shall intimate our higher officials to hold high-level talks with Kerala government to prevent it from releasing water once the level reaches 44.61 ft.”