Dip in Vaigai causes water woes in Madurai

Local authorities said it takes two days for tanks to get filled in zone five, after which water will be released. Measures are underway to provide water through lorries and pipes.

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MADURAI: Potable drinking water distribution in the city, especially in outer areas such as zone four and five, has been affected owing to a dip in the arrival of Vaigai and other water sources. The city corporation will approach the district collector on Monday seeking the release of Vaigai water to recharge collection wells.

During the recent corporation council meeting, several councillors raised the issue of water scarcity in their area. Residents of zone five said potable water distributed through pipelines are given only once in a week. Zone five chairperson said while Thirunagar area gets drinking water from Cauvery, other areas in Thiruparakundram relies on Vaigai river. Owing to less water in Vaigai, the whole zone has to rely on Cauvery water. Considering the demand, additional 0.5 MLD water is being distributed through TWAD, he said.

Local authorities said it takes two days for tanks to get filled in zone five, after which water will be released. Measures are underway to provide water through lorries and pipes.

Official sources said the city needs 184.37 MLD on an average per day.

"Vaigai one and two schemes provide 118.6 MLD and the remaining are from other sources. About 12.28 MLD is from Cauvery drinking water scheme. Apart from these, Melakal and Old Thatchapathu are the third major sources which provide 20.5 MLD," they added.

Since Vaigai river has not flown for a couple of months, many of the water sources have dipped. The amount of water arriving per day has dropped to 140.82 MLD. Melakal source has dropped to 7.52 MLD.

Praveen Kumar, city corporation commissioner, told TNIE, "We have decided to approach Theni district collector for releasing water in Vaigai river as it would improve the flow. Though most of the pipes can carry water using gravity, the rest of the area uses pumps. Actions are being taken towards repairing pumps and replacing the malfunctioning ones for better distribution of water. Also, pits in Madakulam tanks have been deepened and pumps sunken."

He added that though the available water is enough for distribution, some valve operators are showing bias in releasing water.

"Zone four president raised the issues in the council meeting last Friday and wanted valve operators to be appointed as suggested by councillors of the respective wards. A special meeting will be hosted in the coming week to address the issues," he said. The commissioner further assured that the issues will be solved soon and that work for new pipelines under AMRUT scheme is being expedited.