The areas coming under the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) are expected to escape the scourge of drinking water scarcity in the ensuing summer thanks to healthy storage position in major dams of the region.
Mysuru is dependent on the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) in Srirangapatana taluk of Mandya district and Kabini reservoir in H.D. Kote taluk of Mysuru district for its drinking water requirements and the water level in the reservoirs so far is higher than what it was during the same time last year.
The water level at the KRS was hovering at 118.63 ft on Thursday against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 124.80 ft. This is slightly better than the situation last year when the water level was at 114.8 ft. But the quantum of water stored was 41.37 tmcft against the gross storage capacity of 49.45 tmcft, whereas last year the water available on this day was 36.89 tmcft. In 2020, the storage was 38.14 tmcft, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
Similarly, the water level at Kabini was 2,281.33 ft against the FRL of 2,284 ft. The availability of water was 18.26 tmcft against the gross storage capacity of 19.52 tmcft. This is in contrast to the storage position last year when 12.43 tmcft of water was available.
The overall scenario in the Cauvery basin is also better compared to last year. Against the gross installed capacity of 114.57 tmcft across KRS, Kabini, Hemavati and Harangi reservoirs, the cumulative storage as on Thursday was 91.74 tmcft, as against 65.91 tmcft of water that was available on the same day last year, according to KSNDMC.
In the days ahead water will be released from both the KRS and the Kabini to help irrigate the standing crops in the tail-end region and the water levels are expected to register a steep drop. But officials say discounting the release this year’s storage will be adequate to meet the drinking water requirements of both Mysuru and Bengaluru.
Besides, the groundwater table across the district is also healthy due to incessant rains that lashed the region till as late as the first week of December. Hence the dependence on water discharge from the reservoirs could be comparatively less.
But despite the availability of water at the source, there are concerns among the activists over the distribution given the faulty network which could result in shortage. The water requirement of Mysuru is pegged at 275 MLD and notwithstanding the comfortable position in the reservoirs, certain areas are bound to face irregular supply.But officials are confident of tiding over any scarcity arising out of distribution network issues by pressing tankers in case the need arises.
