Rain relief: Mhaisal dam waters rise

PONDA: Despite the scanty showers received so far, the water level in the Mhaisal dam in Ponda taluka’s Panchawadi village is increasing, bringing locals much-needed respite. The water division has also increased its potable water supply after the dam level showed a small rise.
The storage capacity of Mhaisal dam is 436.8 ham (hectare metre). Entire Panchawadi and a part of Shiroda village are dependent on its water. A water treatment plant (WTP) at Gauliwada, atop the Panchawadi hills, draws about 10 million litres per day (MLD) of water for treatment and supplies it to both villages.
However, the dam’s level began dipping in the last week of April, and the water division curtailed potable water supply to the villages.
Shiroda is now catered to by the Opa waterworks and only the Panchawadi village gets some water from the Mhaisal treatment plant about one or two hours per day.
“Though the rain in the catchment area has been sparse, the water level of the dam is slowly increasing as per the needs of the villagers,” said the water division’s executive engineer, Nivruti Parsekar.
“With the required quantity of water available for treatment, we can supply around 2.5MLD potable water to the Panchawadi village,” said Parsekar.