Water again to be released to Thumbe dam Apr 12, Tuesday

Water again to be released to Thumbe dam Apr 12, Tuesday

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Apr 11, 2016: According to sources in the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), water level at Thumbe dam stood at 7.5 feet on Apr 10, Sunday against the maximum 13 feet.  Water from the AMR hydro power project dam across the Netravati at Shambhoor is expected to be released for the second time from Apr 12, Tuesday night as water-level in the downstream Thumbe vented dam, the main source of drinking water to the city, has depleted again by more than five feet.

Earlier, water was released from the Shambhoor dam on March 28 after water-level in Thumbe dam depleted to 8.3 feet on March 26. Following the release, water had been stored up to a height of 12 feet.

Knowledgeable, sources said that there is no inflow in the Netravati at present.  Water stored in both the dams is sufficient to quench the thirst of the city only till May 10. The situation might aggravate if it doesn’t rain by then in the foothills of the Western Ghats as farmers were also drawing water from the Netravati and Kumaradhara.

The water-level in Shamboor dam stood at 16.25 metres on Apr 10, Sunday against the maximum 18.9 metres. Water, which would be released from  Apr 12, Tuesday, would be stored in Thumbe up to a height of 12 feet.

It would take at least 24 hours for the water from Shambhoor to reach Thumbe after traversing for about eight km. Sources said though 160 MLD of water was being pumped from Thumbe to the city, the actual availability of water for distribution would be between 90 MLD and 110 MLD. The remaining was lost to theft and seepage.