Temple town mulls policy to preserve water

Kochi: The Guruvayur municipal corporation will soon draft a water policy based on the findings of a water audit conducted by the SCMS Water Institute at SCMS College of Engineering, Karukutty, Ernakulam.

This is for the first time a municipal corporation in the state is undertaking such a project. The SCMS Institute had recently completed the water audit and submitted a report to the civic body.

As per the audit, hotels, lodges and restaurants which cater to over 3.5 crore pilgrims every year are the major water consumers.

Water scarcity is the major issue in Guruvayur where the population is only 73, 000 but is visited by a huge number of pilgrims every year.

“The water audit has been approved by the municipal council based on which a comprehensive water policy will be drafted soon.

 Based on the findings, the civic body has already initiated water conservation measures, including canal restoration, rainwater harvesting, well recharging and conservation of water sources.

A comprehensive project worth '10 crore under AMRUT scheme has also been proposed. Guruva-yur will be the first municipality which will have a water policy,” Mr K.P. Vinod, municipal vice-chairman, told DC.

The major recommendations of the water audit include restoration/conservation of water bodies, prioritising public taps, well-mapping and routine water quality analysis, exploring feasibility of sea water desalination plants to serve commercial water demand and promoting rainwater harvesting.

There are more than 200 hotels, 138 lodges and nearly 180 restaurants in the municipal area with an average daily water demand of 5.5 million litres.

There are 2,746 commercial establishments in the area. The Punnathoor elephant sanctuary which has 54 elephants requires two lakh litres of water per day. A total of 47 lakh litres of water is being brought to Guruvayur daily from other areas. The total demand is 21 MLD, including the domestic, commercial and agricultural sectors.

The survey has also identified the water-stressed areas, assessed the quality of water and its availability from alternative sources to meet future demand.