THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Officials are revisiting a 42-year-old proposal for linking Neyyar dam to Aruvikkara reservoir in the wake of the current drought situation. However, prima facie, it wasn't found to be feasible anymore as water levels in Neyyar dam are much lower than four decades ago. Peppara which feeds Aruvikkara dam, on the other hand, is in a slightly better position with water to last for another 60 days. During the chief ministership of C. Achutha Menon, a severe drought hit the city in 1975. There was no municipal water in the capital city for ten days.
"Aruvikkara, the only source of drinking water dried up, and a plan was charted to lay pipes from Neyyar dam through Kottur side. The pipe from Kappukadu was to end up on a canal that runs into Karamana river which feeds Aruvikkara reservoir. A company named Kerala Electrical Works was to execute the project and pipes were also bought,” recalls activist Raj Kumar. “However, government alternatively worked on Peppara dam commissioned in 1983. It continues to replenish Aruvikkara daily to date. Though another drought hit Kerala in 1982 it had not affected the capital.”
Irrigation officials said they had started thinking about the project during 2013 drought as they wanted a plan B other than Peppara mother dam. This week, a serious discussion on this was initiated. “The problem is, water levels in Neyyar dam are seven metres lower than in 1975. So water may not naturally flow down to Aruvikkara dam anymore,” he added.
Adding to the woes, the canal to which the pipeline from Neyyar has to be connected is in bad condition with drainage flowing into it. Neyyar dam commissioned in 1958 serves irrigation purpose in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, unlike Peppara dedicated for drinking water purposes. The present water level in Neyyar is 77.1 metres, and maximum drawable limit of water is 65 metres. "If strong summer rains do not happen, Neyyar dam will dry up soon. Now the release of water is directly controlled by the district collector," the official added.
Catchment areas turns into land
As the catchment area of Aruvikkara reservoir has turned into land due to lack of desiltation, officials at Peppara dam have to release water more frequently resulting in massive seepage loss during the transit of water. Nine massive catchment zones in areas like Pazhanilam, Kalathara and Vembannoor have turned into pasture land, playgrounds or marshes. Though officials recently started a cleaning drive, it has been reduced to clearing of vegetation.
The condition of the reservoir has been exposed during each drought. The fast losing catchment areas are spread across Uzahmalakkal, Aruvikkara and Aryanad panchayats. "The V.S. Achuthanandan government had in 2009 tried to dredge land. The government could not profitably extract sand from here and so it wrapped up the idea," said a local resident P. Vijayan. Many in the area remember that they used to swim in Vembannoor catchment area that sprawled across several acres. Now the catchment area has turned into a shallow marsh and part of it has become land.
Though Aruvikkara reservoir has a maximum water storage capacity of 46 metres, it has drawable water level starting only from the depth of around 45.2 metres. "One metre of water in Aruvikkara gets finished in hours considering the massive consumption in the city. So water is released daily into the dam," said an official attached to the head works division of Kerala Water Authority.
