The water level in Papanasam, Manimuthar and Servalar dams is adequate to handle demand until August, according to Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Sathish.
At a review meeting of status of water supply projects and availability of water, District Monitoring Officer Rajendra Kumar on Saturday said there was no water crisis in the district. Steps were being taken to supply water using local sources at places with scarcity such as Puliangudi.
Ms. Shilpa said the water level at Papanasam dam had reached nearly 40 feet after the onset of southwest monsoon. Further, 330 cusecs of water were being released from the dams to fulfill the water demand of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar districts. Sankarankovil and Puliangudi Municipalities, which were served through the Kottaimalaiyar scheme, were now being supplied water through lorries due to scarcity.
Projects worth ₹543 crore to provide water to various areas, including Sankarankovil in Tirunelveli district, Puliangudi, Rajapalayam, Sivakasi and Thiruthangal in Virudhungar district, would be completed in 2020, she said.
Further, 528 out of 669 projects taken up in villages by DRDA at a cost of ₹39 crore had been completed. Nine borewells were being sunk at town panchayats at an outlay of ₹39 lakh, while 20 additional borewells were in the pipeline. Steps would be taken to recharge borewells with dwindling supply. The water demand for seven fishing hamlets in Radhapuram would be met using local sources.
Also, in order to prevent animal deaths due to water scarcity, water troughs would be set up by the Forest department.
A project for desilting Ramanathi dam was in the pipeline, and work would begin once the funds were allocated. Once the level increases at Manimuthar dam, water would be released for irrigation, the Collector added.