Attingal, Varkala regions to face acute water shortage

Thiruvananthapuram: When drought hit the district in 2017, Vamanapuram river, which is the major source of potable water for areas such as Attingal, Varkala municipalities and adjoining areas, were the worst-hit.
As the district is heading for another drinking water crisis, the water in Vamanapuram river is again depleting at a faster rate. The KWA officials feel that the pumping could continue only for a month.

“As per our expectation, pumping could continue till March end. We hope there will be summer rains in between. Or else, we must bring water from other areas to the sources,” a KWA official said.

KWA has more than 20 schemes, which depend on Vamanapuram river as a source. Unlike Karamana river, which has a dam on it at Peppara, Vamanapuram river is devoid of a major dam to store water. Instead, check dams are constructed in some areas where KWA pump water to its treatment plants.

In 2017, all sources which depended on Vamanapuram river were affected when the river almost dried up during summer. The KWA had to use reverse osmosis plants to source water from quarries and lakes. It also restricted the 24-hour supply of water then. The KWA officials said that they had not taken any measures so far, besides introducing a temporary ban on new connections.

The demand for a dam across Vamanapuram river is several years old. The irrigation department has earlier planned a dam under Vamanapuram irrigation project, which was dropped later. After 2017, the KWA has asked the irrigation department to explore the possibility of a dam or check dams to ensure water supply during summer.

The KWA had also decided to take steps such as construction of rainwater pits and water recharging measures to reduce the depletion of water. However, watershed management works didn’t materialize. Vamanapuram block panchayat too had launched initiatives for watershed management. However, the works took off only after monsoon and thus, was ineffective.