Hyderabad: “For almost eight months, we will have to run Hyderabad without Manjira and Singur, which together account for about 20 percent of our water, or roughly 100 MGD. We have prepared a contingency plan to manage this. We are bringing about 40 MGD more from the Godavari, an additional 10 to 15 MGD from the Krishna, and about 5 MGD from Osman Sagar, so we are arranging around 60 MGD in all. Even then, a shortage of 40 to 50 MGD will remain, and that is a major problem,” said Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) Managing Director K. Ashok Reddy.
Explaining the drinking water situation, he said reduced rainfall due to the El Niño effect and falling storage levels in the Singur and Manjira reservoirs could pose challenges to drinking water supply in the coming summer. The city is currently being supplied 560 to 570 million gallons per day (MGD), but with groundwater levels declining, the demand for water tankers is rising significantly.
He said the city is currently being supplied 550 million gallons per day (MGD). However, with groundwater levels declining, the demand for water tankers is rising significantly.
“Seven constituencies, from Patancheru and Serilingampally to Narsingi, up to Jubilee Hills and Sanath Nagar, will be partially affected. Serilingampally will be the worst hit, at about 80 percent. Groundwater levels have also dropped drastically, and the combination of lost groundwater and the reservoir shortage is likely to have a very significant impact. Anticipating this, we have been running awareness campaigns for almost a year,” he added.
Stressing the need to curb wastage, he said: “We are supplying about 550 MGD today. Because water is available, out of habit we use about 20 percent more than we need. If we can truly save that 20 percent, it equals 100 MGD, which is exactly what we lose from Singur and Manjira.”
“Our strategy this year is to bring in additional supply and, just as important, to change our habits and stop misusing water. Severe drought does not happen often, but when it does, we must treat it like a war. We must change our habits, create public awareness and prepare people mentally. We have developed an app for this purpose,” he said.
To tackle the situation effectively, he appealed to every family to save at least 20 percent of its water and urged all citizens to take part in water conservation.