UDHAGAMANDALAM: Coonoor municipality is facing an acute drinking water shortage, with supply to residents of its 30 wards now being made once every 10 days following the complete drying up of the Ralliah dam, the town’s principal water source.The 43.7ft Ralliah dam has been reduced to a dry bed of mud and sludge amid poor rainfall and negligible inflow. Dam’s water level has fallen sharply, raising concerns over the sustainability of the town’s drinking water supply.The crisis has affected the Emerald Combined Water Supply Scheme, which is currently being relied upon to meet the town’s requirements. Officials and residents, however, said the drying of other sources, including Emerald, could further worsen the situation if rainfall does not improve.Residents have alleged that the municipality has failed to take adequate preventive measures despite the recurring water shortage. They have sought urgent action to desilt and strengthen existing water sources and improve storage capacity. Residents and traders are also being forced to buy water brought by private tankers, increasing their daily expenses.Coonoor municipal commissioner G S Krishnaram said the civic body was presently supplying water through the Emerald combined water supply scheme. “Steps will be taken to desilt water sources and increase water supply. About five wards are supplied with drinking water every day. For 15 wards, it is supplied on alternate days, and the remaining 10 wards are supplied once every three days. We plan to reduce the supply hours; for instance, if it were four hours, it will be reduced to two hours because the water level in the dams has dropped. Ten small sources are available from where water is fetched on trucks to be supplied to places facing shortage,” he said.The commissioner said, “A proposal estimated at Rs 56 crore has been submitted to the govt for laying new pipelines to improve drinking water distribution from sources including the Ralliah dam.”According to the municipality, the total demand per day is 4.26 million litres, of which currently one MLD is drawn from the Ralliah dam and three MLD from Emerald drinking water scheme.With the southwest monsoon failing to adequately replenish the catchment, residents fear the shortage could intensify in the coming weeks unless substantial rainfall is received.
