Gorishola Reservoir has very little water despite rain

Despite good rain in the Nilgiris this year, the Gorishola Reservoir that serves as an important source of water for Udhagamandalam town is almost dry, with water levels standing at only a fraction of the total capacity of the reservoir.

Municipality officials said that water was drawn from the reservoir to supplement the water requirements for parts of Udhagamandalam town, especially when the storage levels from the main sources like the Parsons Valley Reservoir drop during the summer season.

However, despite showers this year, the Gorishola Reservoir has very little water, worrying activists like S. Janardhanan, president of the Ooty Public Awareness Association, who says that the lack of water in the reservoir should be a major cause for concern for the district administration. “Though there was good rain this year, we have seen periods of drought occurring every few years in the Nilgiris with increasing regularity. Such periods of crises can only be managed effectively when the smaller reservoirs remain healthy,” he said.

N. Mohanraj, environmentalist and honorary wildlife warden (Mudumalai and surrounding eco-sensitive zones), said that the lack of water flowing into the reservoir could be due to multiple factors.

“The major reason is the mushrooming of resorts and hotel businesses around the reservoir, many of whom are possibly diverting water flowing into the reservoir. Secondly, the catchment area for the reservoir itself is quite small, which means that any disturbance to the area, in the form of construction projects or the spread of exotics could also lead to decreasing inflows,” he said.

The reservoir is also surrounded by exotic species of plants and trees, which could also be consuming a significant amount of water that would otherwise seep into the reservoir or join the streams flowing into it. Mr. Mohanraj said that the forest department and the district administration should consider removing the exotic species of flora surrounding the reservoir to improve inflow.

Exotic plants

Vasanth Bosco, a restoration ecologist based in Udhagamandalam, said that the scotch broom, gorse and species of Cestrum - all exotic, alien invaders to the Nilgiris - were found in abundance in the area. “While efforts to remove these exotics could prove fruitful in improving the flow of water into Gorishola, the age of the exotic trees populating the upper slopes need to be taken into account before deciding on whether they need to be removed,” said Mr. Bosco.