Kerala: Dams in good health ahead of monsoons

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ghosts of last year's water scarcity caused by lack of adequate showers in 2016 have become a thing of past as the dams have enough water ahead of southwest monsoon. The sumptuous pre-monsoon showers had ensured that Peppara dam has a level of 101.70 m on Saturday.  During the same week in May 2017, the dam had a level of just 89.4m and was nearing the dead stock.  It was unable to cater to the needs of Aruvikkara reservoir downstream.  This necessitated the pumping of water from Neyyar dam to Aruvikkara reservoir.  

“The Aruvikkara reservoir had its shutters opened earlier this week though it hardly makes any difference, considering its poor storage capacity. We daily release water from Peppara to Aruvikkara through the same penstock used to generate electricity,” a Kerala Water Authority official said.

“Few good spells of rain in the latter half of southwest monsoon itself will be enough for us to sail past this year. That does not mean that we should stop considering increasing the maximum storage level from 107.5-metre to 110.5m considering future needs.” On Saturday, the Neyyar dam, which has a large storage capacity, had a level of 79.8 m.  During mid-May 2017, the dam had only around 74.3-metre water. It has a maximum capacity of 84.5m and caters to the irrigation needs of Thiruvananthapuram.