BENGALURU: The State Government is wasting around 2.2 tmcft of water from Tippagondanahalli (TG Halli) Reservoir, the first man-made dam built in 1933 and located around 35 km from Bengaluru on Magadi Road.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officials said the reservoir has 2.2 tmcft of water standing at 58 feet, which has been ignored and not utilised. “To ensure that the machinery that was recently repaired and restarted at a cost of Rs 230 crore is not wasted, we are pumping 4 MLD of drinking water downstream to Manchanabele Dam and Magadi villages. The rest of the water is standing idle and is being lost to evaporation and leakage. The positive takeaway is that the groundwater table in the region is good and farmers are happy,” said a BWSSB engineer.
“Bengaluru does not need the 4 tmcft from the Mekedatu project when this existing water body is left neglected. The DPR for Mekedatu does not include the pipeline to be laid to Bengaluru. In the case of TG Halli, there is already an existing pipeline which was also repaired recently. On the directions of Indian Institute Science, an additional ozonisation plant was added to treat water to make it fit for consumption in 2024. It was supplied to Bengaluru in 2024 on a trial basis, but was stopped on government orders,” the official said.
‘TG Halli water good, fit for consumption’
The TG Halli Reservoir has a capacity to store water up to 74 ft. Its water spreads across 2,300 acre and the total site area is 2,700 acre.
But the government and citizens do not trust water from the reservoir. Apart from rain, the source of water supply to TG Halli reservoir is Arkavathy river and Hessarghatta.
While Cauvery water is treated and chlorinated, water from TG Halli undergoes an additional ozonization process. 35 MLD of treated water from Arkavathy flows into TG Halli. BWSSB is preparing a catchment revival report. They now supply 1,940 MLD of Cauvery water from TK Halli reservoir to Bengaluru every day.
“Water from TG Halli reservoir is good and fit for consumption, yet it is ignored and wasted every day. The government wants to use TG Halli water when the Yetinaholle project reaches Bengaluru. But that project is delayed. To use TG Halli water, a project report to supply it to Dobbaspet and Peenya industrial areas is being prepared,” the engineer said.
Prof TV Ramachandra from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, said Bengaluru does not need the Mekedatu project as the city receives sufficient rain. The city also gets a good quantity of Cauvery water and an equal amount of treated waste water is also generated. All this needs to be well utilised, he advised.
