Hyderabad has enough drinking water till next year

Hyderabad: Godavari, which is supplying over 140 million gallons of water every day to Hyderabad, is filled to the brim.  “Good rainfall this year has blessed Godavari with ample amounts of water. Godavari is now an assured source of water supply until next monsoon,” said Praveen Kumar, Director Technical, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB).

About 30 per cent of water consumed in Hyderabad comes from Godavari. The river has been quenching the thirst of Hyderabad since 2015. Not only the city, the river also provides 8,000 tmcft to National Thermal Power Corporation in Ramagundam.

“Water in Yellampalli barrage is now crossing 146.4 metres, while the Full Tank Level (FTL) is 147.9 metres. Meanwhile, 20 tmcft of water is being drawn every day from Sripada Yellampalli Project, of which, 10 tmcft is used for the city and remaining 10 tmcft for irrigation and NTPC projects,” said Shivraj, General Manager, HMWSSB, while addressing media personnel at Yellampalli Barrage.

“Though water from Yellampalli project could be used to draw up to 172 MGD, but we resist the numbers in surplus and continue to draw 140 MGD. Further the city requires 465 MGD where 260 MGD is being supplied from Krishna through Nagarjunasagar project and 65 MGD from Manjira and Singur reservoirs,” Said Praveen Kumar.  

Although raw water of brimming Godavari looks muddy, it is purified and filtered across the long trail of over 180 kilometres to the city. Starting from the initial 6.6 Kv pump house at Murmur, raw water is pumped using six heavy duty motors, flows through 3-metre wide pipe to Bommakal reservoir and then to Mallaram water treatment plants. The raw water is treated with chlorine and is filtered before reaching the Ghanpur reservoir near Hyderabad, where it is distributed through minor pipelines through Serilingampally and Malkajgiri.