Prolonged summer in Hyderabad, citizens told to save water

Hyderabad: Water body officials fear that if there is no cyclone or a disturbance over the Bay of Bengal, the city is in for a long, dry summer. Summer this year could extend to five months, till the onset of monsoon, which is early July.

Officials have advised the public, especially households and institutions, to save at least 30 per cent of water. If the groundwater storage level hits the dead level mark, citizens will have to depend on drinking water for household purposes as well. Presently, 86 MGD of water is being drawn from Godavari Phase I, and officials cannot draw more because Godavari and Krishna are the only water sources to survive the summer. On the other hand, if there are good rains, the city will have surplus water.

Dr Janardhan Reddy, MD, Water Board, said, “Presently the board is supplying 350 MGD per day to the city. In 2015 at the same period, 340 MGD per day was supplied. Even though there is no withdrawal from Singur, Manjira, Himayatsagar and Osmansagar, the quantity supplied to the city this year is 10 MGD higher because of Godavari. The same will continue in summer, but we are expecting rains soon, as we cannot exhaust the Godavari source. Groundwater in many areas has touched the dead mark. In many areas, especially in Hitec City, Uppal, Habsiguda and L.B. Nagar, there is no ground water.”

Consumers are already facing the heat. Priyanka Rao from Kapra area, in a complaint to the Board said, “We are facing acute water shortage as the supply is not even once weekly, please supply water at least twice or thrice a week as we are facing acute water shortage, right from November itself and fear the dreaded summer. Our wells and borewells are already dry and we are dependent on the municipal water.”

Water levels in reservoirs have plummeted to the lowest ever in a decade.

Rainwater pits: Onus on RWAs
Water Board officials have appealed to resident welfare associations to come forward and at least maintain the rainwater harvesting pits constructed by the board.

Residents need not spend a rupee as the Water Board will pay for the entire construction. However, they will have to be maintained by the RWAs or interested citizens. A memorandum of understanding will be signed between the board and the party, while the residents will be made the maintenance authority.  

Water board managing director B. Janardhan Reddy said, “Citizens while applying for building permission show areas for rainwater harvesting pits in the layout as per the municipal building bylaws. The GHMC and the Water Board collect fees towards the same and then grant building permissions and approve water connections too. However, when officials inspect the site, the pit area is used for other purposes. I don’t blame citizens alone; the municipal body is also responsible for the depleting ground water levels.”

He said the board was appealing to interested parties to approach the body for pits, the board will take care of the expenditure, but the party needs to maintain it. An RTI query to GHMC and Water Board revealed that the municipal bodies had collected Rs 131 crore from permissions, which was meant for construction of rainwater harvesting pits.

When M.T. Krishna Babu was the GHMC commissioner, the corporation had introduced a scheme wherein the civic body would bear 70 per cent and interested parties 30 per cent of the cost of a rainwater harvesting pit. This scheme could not take off because in several areas though residents provided space for pits, the GHMC did not make the investment.

Those who individually invested 100 per cent in construction still have not been reimbursed GHMC’s 70 per cent. Each pit costs Rs 9,000 onwards, depending on the area.