COIMBATORE: The water level in the Siruvani dam has crossed the 30ft mark following incessant rain in its catchment areas. The dam is one of the major sources of drinking water for the people of Coimbatore and is situated in the Palakkad district of Kerala. The Kerala government has allowed storage up to 45 feet against its capacity of 50 feet.
Due to the lack of rain in the catchment areas during the last monsoon season, the water level in the dam dropped drastically to less than a foot and stood at about 0.5 ft. As a result, drinking water was supplied only once in 20 days in several areas of the city.
With the Northeast monsoon season beginning, the water storage level in the Siruvani started rising gradually and the officials have increased the intake from the reservoir. Speaking to TNIE, a TWAD (Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage) Board official of the Siruvani division said, “Over the past few days, the water catchment areas of the dam and the Siruvani foothills received a good amount of rain.
Around 7 to 20 mm of rainfall was recorded in the past few days. However, we received no rain on Friday. Currently, the water storage level in the dam stands at 30.27 ft against its full capacity of 50 ft. The storage level has increased by more than 2 feet within a week. With the current capacity, we will be able to supply water till February at ease.”
The official also added that at present, they have increased supply to 71.59 MLD of water to Coimbatore when compared to last week’s 68 MLD. The supply will be increased further depending upon the rains in the upcoming days, the sources added.