HYDERABAD: With water levels in Nagarjunasagar touching precarious levels, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) which has installed seven emergency pumps will begin trial runs from April 15 for drawing water from Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) at the foreshore of Nagarjunasagar near Puttamgandi in Nalgonda district to avert drinking water crisis in Greater Hyderabad during the current summer and monsoon delay, if any.
Another three emergency pumps are in the process of installation and would be completed within a week. In Krishna (Nagarjunasgar) as against the full reservoir level of 590 feet, the present level is 506 ft. In terms of storage, there is just 125 tmc as against the capacity of 312.045 tmc.
The water board has been drawing raw Krishna water from Puttamgandi (for lifting water from Nagarjunasagar), around 120 km away from the city, for supplying 270 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from Krishna Drinking Water Supply Scheme (KDWS), Phase-1, 2 and 3.
Krishna and Godavari together supplies 350-360 MGD of water to Hyderabad and enroute villages, while four other reservoirs -- Osmansagar, Himayatsagar, Singur and Manjira which supplies about 160 MGD of water have been temporarily stopped.
Nearly one crore people living in Greater Hyderabad depend on Krishna and Godavari water. If the water level falls beyond 505 ft, emergency pumping motors will have to be pressed into service at Puttamgandi to draw water up to 496 ft for three months -- April, May and June.
The emergency plan is devised to ensure drinking water supply to Hyderabad at least till June when the monsoon is expected to arrive.
Three days ago, Telangana Irrigation and Command Area Development (I&CAD) department, engineer-in-chief, C Muralidhar in a letter to HMWS&SB asked them to make emergency pumping arrangements on priority for drawing water from MDDL at the earliest.
He mentioned that water storage in Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar are low and fast depleting. To meet the water demand, it is necessary to take action to maintain water supply to the twin cities.