Coonoor residents and the municipality are both hoping for rain as the storage levels at the Ralliah reservoir stands at just over 20 feet, with the water expected to last for less than two weeks based on current consumption patterns. Officials from the Coonoor Municipality said that the current storage level of the reservoir, which supplies most of the water to Coonoor town, stands at 23 feet. The storage capacity of the dam is close to 44 feet, but the lack of rain, combined with water usage patterns in the town has led to the current crisis, officials said.
Even though the water situation is dire, it could actually be a lot worse than what is feared, officials added. “The water availability is always less than what the storage level suggests as it gets drier. The reservoir at the bottom is like a bucket, which narrows at the bottom, meaning there is even less water than what the storage level indicates,” said an official, who added that the quality of water too will be much worse due to sand and silt at the bottom.
“Based on current estimates, we expect the water to last us for another two weeks,” added the official.
The municipality is supplying water to Coonoor residents only once in 15 days in order to allow the reservoir to recharge. However, unless the rain comes soon, the situation will only get progressively worse, municipality officials said.
Preparations are currently under way to draw water from aquifers and wells belonging to private companies and tea estates in the Coonoor area. Municipality officials said that talks are ongoing to convince them to lend the municipality water that can be used to supply residential areas using water tankers.