Lack of summer rain and extreme temperatures have forced people to depend on piped water supply even in the district’s rural areas in the eastern belt, where well resources are the first source unlike the city areas. This summer, wells have gone dry and there is an unprecedented rush for piped connection.
Under the Perumbavoor sub division of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), there were 526 new connections in March alone. There has been an increase in demand by about 40%, said an official of the KWA. In Moovattupuzha division, there were 250 new connections last month. A total of 3,600 connections were given from April 2018 to March 2019.
Water supply schemes at Kothamangalam, Varapetty, and Pallarimangalam are now unable to meet the demand as they depend heavily on the irrigation water released to the Periyar Valley Canal (PVC). The Parikanni river is almost dry, according to a senior official at the Muvattupuzha division of KWA.
Schemes that depend on the Muvattupuzha river have no shortage of water. However, because of high demand, residents at the tail end of the distribution network are getting little water.
In Perumbavoor, the projects which are banking on the Periyar do not face any problem, while those depending on PVC are facing water shortage. Besides, when a power breach occurs due to a cable fault, water supply is totally hit.
Many panchayats in the area have turned to water tankers taking water from KWA plants which have enough water, said district panchayat president Asha Sanil.
The Groundwater Department in a consolidated study had said that 55% of the wells in the district have shown a decline in the groundwater level when compared to the level of March 2018, while 54% of borewells have shown a decline in the level. It was also observed that Kothamangalam, Koothattukulam, Pampakuda and Muvattupuzha blocks could face groundwater scarcity. Even so, Ernakulam stands better compared to Thrissur and Alappuzha where many blocks have been declared ‘unsafe’.
The department, which had taken up artificial recharge of wells by investing in rainwater harvesting in a few government institutions every year, has now devised at least 30 projects to be implemented this year in the district. The consolidated report on water scarcity is only a warning, said the department head in the district.