THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the grip of a deepening water crisis, the entire capital is pinning its hopes on strong spells of summer showers for relief.
With water level in Peppara dam, the primary source of drinking water for the capital, fast dwindling, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and the city corporation are waiting in hope for strong summer rain to tide over the crisis. Water in the dam has come down from the full reservoir level of 107.5m to 96.55m on Wednesday.
Though the capital has started receiving pre-monsoon showers, KWA officials said there has been no substantial inflow into the dam even after two days of rain.
On Wednesday, shutters of the downstream Aruvikkara dam, which provides supply of piped water to the city, were raised following short spells of isolated rain, sparking hopes. However, an official said there has been no substantial inflow yet.
“Only isolated rainfall was received in the catchment area. Since Aruvikkara has limited storage, even a small inflow can cause the water level to rise quickly,” said the official, adding, “The situation is entirely dependent on rainfall. Only a strong spell across the catchment can improve storage.”
As per estimates, the Peppara dam, which feeds water into the Aruvikkara reservoir, has barely three weeks of usable water left. KWA supplies water to around 3.5 lakh consumers in the capital.
Mayor V V Rajesh said the capital can no longer rely solely on Aruvikkara to meet its growing water demand. “The infrastructure we depend on today was designed over three decades ago.The city has seen exponential growth in population, high-rise apartments and IT establishments. For a sustainable solution, we must reduce water loss – around 40% – due to leaks and simultaneously explore augmenting supply by integrating sources like the Neyyar dam,” Rajesh said.
He stressed that the city needs a comprehensive, time-bound intervention backed by both the Union and state governments, along with long-term strategies such as rainwater harvesting and decentralised storage systems.
Meanwhile, the acute water crisis has triggered strong protests from all parties against the KWA and the BJP-led corporation. K S Sabarinadhan, the UDF parliamentary party leader in the corporation, said the water shortage in Thiruvananthapuram was no longer a seasonal issue but a structural one that persisted beyond summer.
“We must explore and operationalise alternative sources such as the Neyyar dam project, which has remained on paper for years. The government must also address mismanagement and lack of coordination between agencies, and prioritise upgrading the ageing pipeline and distribution network. Waiting for the monsoon cannot be a strategy. Parallel efforts on infrastructure modernisation and new source development must begin immediately so that the city gets some relief by next summer,” he said.
Though the corporation had initiated efforts to replace age-old pipelines, the project never materialised. LDF parliamentary party leader S P Deepak said a `200-crore project was drawn up during the tenure of V K Prasanth to replace the ageing pipelines.
“There is no point in setting up more water treatment plants or finding alternative sources. The only way to address the crisis is by upgrading the distribution network,” he said.
