COIMBATORE: With water levels steadily declining at the Pillur Dam, the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has decided to approach the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to release water from the Upper Bhavani Dam to ensure an uninterrupted drinking water supply for residents of Coimbatore during the summer months.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said the civic body would soon hold discussions with Electricity Board officials, as the Upper Bhavani reservoir primarily supplies water for hydroelectric power generation before flowing downstream to Pillur.
"As of Wednesday, the water level at Pillur Dam stands at 72 feet against its full reservoir level of 100 ft. Due to the accumulation of silt over the years, the effective storage capacity of the reservoir has reduced significantly," he said.
Officials, however, noted that the Upper Bhavani reservoir currently holds around 4 TMC of water, which could be utilised to support drinking water supply for the city if released downstream. "This quantity would be sufficient to manage Coimbatore's drinking water needs until July. However, since the water is linked to hydro power generation, we need to hold discussions with Electricity Board officials to facilitate its release to Pillur," the Commissioner added.
Earlier in the day, the Commissioner, along with officials from the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD), inspected the Pillur Dam near Athikkadavu on the Coimbatore-Nilgiris district border. During the visit, he reviewed the reservoir's current water level, storage position and discharge pattern with officials.
The Pillur reservoir is a crucial source of drinking water for Coimbatore and supplies water through three major projects, Pillur I, Pillur II and Pillur III. Under the Pillur I combined drinking water scheme, about 10.67 million litres per day (MLD) is supplied to 20 wards, including Thudiyalur, Vellakinaru, Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatti, Vilankurichi and Kalapatti.
The Pillur II scheme distributes around 109.80 MLD of water to 34 wards covering areas such as Peelamedu, Singanallur, Ondipudur, Sowripalayam, Udayampalayam, Masakalipalayam, Ramanathapuram, Ganapathy, Gandhimanagar, Ramakrishnapuram, Nanjundapuram, Ukkadam and Pappanaickenpalayam. Meanwhile, the Pillur III scheme supplies approximately 172.36 MLD to the remaining parts of the city.
Following the dam inspection, the Commissioner also visited the primary water pumping station at Pillur to review its operations and interacted with officials regarding the functioning of the pumping infrastructure.
CCMC Chief Engineer Vijayakumar, Deputy City Engineer Elangovan, TWAD Executive Engineer Savadamuthu and other municipal engineers accompanied the Commissioner during the inspection.