Water supply situation comfortable in Coimbatore city, says Corporation

Rain in catchment areas improves storage level in Siruvani and Pilloor reservoirs

Coimbatore city residents can heave a sigh of relief as the drinking water supply situation has improved due to widespread rainfall in the catchment areas of Siruvani and Pilloor reservoirs that provide water to the city.

The Coimbatore Corporation says that with the present storage, it will be able to manage the water supply to the city for the next three to four months.

As per data from the Department of Disaster Management, on July 15 the water level at Siruvani Dam stood at 41.98 ft and it was 97 ft at Pilloor, the two main sources of drinking water to the city. 

Last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote a letter to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, to maintain the storage in Siruvani at the full reservoir level of 49.53 ft, against the maximum level of 45 ft maintained by Kerala. The lowering of water level reduced 19% of the total storage, Mr. Stalin pointed out.  

The Kerala government increased the water supply by mid-June. A Corporation official said, during the time of scarcity, the Corporation had received only 40 mld (million litres per day) against the designated quantity of 98.12 mld. Because of the rain, the Corporation started getting more than 95 mld from Siruvani, since June 20. 

Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap told The Hindu the frequency of water supply before June was once in 15 days, which has been improved to less than 10 days last month. Because of the recent rain, the supply frequency has increased further to less than a week, in many parts of the city. He also said that issues relating to supply in a few areas would be solved at the earliest.