Tough times are ahead, as Water crisis worsen in City

With the passage of each scorching day, and delayed monsoon, water worries for residents of city are on its peak. Tough times are ahead for Hyderabadis as the drinking water crisis is all set to deepen due to deficit rainfall.

As bore-wells in the city drying up and municipal supply of water dwindles, drinking water crisis looming large over Greater Hyderabad, compelling residents to rely on private suppliers who charge exorbitant rates.

The available supply of water is grossly insufficient to meet the city’s demands. Hyderabad needs 625 MGD to quench its thirst, but the Water Board is able to supply only 385 MGD.

Against the combined water storage capacity of 39.783 TMC in the five reservoirs of Osmansagar (Gandipet), Himayatsagar, Singur, Manjira and Krishna, the present water storage is just about 4.546 TMC. It was 14.568 TMC during the same period in 2014 while it was around 30 TMC in August 2013.

The depleting water level in Osmansagar (Gandipet), Himayatsagar, Singur and Manjira, which meets nearly 50 percent of the drinking needs of Greater Hyderabad and suburban areas, is causing concern.

If the rain fails to arrive, the situation may turn from bad to worse. Considering the perilous situation, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is mulling over to reduce the duration of water supply by half or resort like once in three days and twice a week supply in the twin cities to compensate the crisis.

The water levels at Osmansagar and Himayatsagar have reached alarming levels and water supply from these two reservoirs has grown negligible.
There have been complaints from several localities in the city that they are getting muddy water due to pumping of water from dead storage level.