Anticipating drinking water crisis in Bengaluru this summer, the State Government is putting in place a contingency plan to draw water from the dead storage of Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoir at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 crore. A High-Level Meeting of Irrigation Officials on Feb. 21 discussed the possibility of pumping the dead storage water at KRS, if the need arose, to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs. Speaking to reporters, Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil indicated his Dept. may be left with no option but to resort to “rationing of water” to BWSSB, in the wake of depleting water levels at Cauvery reservoirs, especially KRS and Kabini. “With the present storage in KRS, the water needs of Bengaluru could be met up to May. However, the authorities anticipated a shortage in peak summer. Officials are constantly monitoring the availability of water in KRS. They are favouring utilisation of dead storage in case of emergency,” he said. The dead storage is 4.4 tmcft in KRS. Authorities are also planning to announce water rationing, which would mean restricting the supply of water to once in three days. “Implementation of the Mekedatu project would be the only long-term answer to quench thirst of the growing city in the days to come,” he said.
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