Srisailam Water to be Reserved for Rayalaseema Drinking Needs: Nimmala
Ramanaidu said the government would accord top priority to meeting drinking water requirements
VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government will release water from the Srisailam reservoir only to meet drinking water requirements in the Rayalaseema region, Minister for water resources Nimmala Ramanaidu said on Wednesday.
Reviewing the likely impact of El Nino on water availability in major reservoirs with senior officials, the minister said water in the Srisailam reservoir should be conserved until June 2027 to safeguard drinking water supplies.
He said the reservoir currently holds 119 tmc ft of water and is expected to receive an additional 100 tmc ft of inflows over the next 10 days.
Referring to Andhra Pradesh's 63 per cent share of Krishna river water, Ramanaidu said the government would accord top priority to meeting drinking water requirements.
He said 13 tmc ft of water was required to fill reservoirs under the Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project. Accordingly, the government would release 10 tmc ft of water through the Pothireddypadu Head Regulator from Thursday to replenish reservoirs in the project command area.
The minister said 10 tmc ft of water would also be required under the Telugu Ganga Project to meet Chennai's drinking water needs. In addition, 32 tmc ft would be needed to supply drinking water to areas served by the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir and its right and left canals.
Ramanaidu said the government would review rainfall and flood inflows every week and prepare an action plan to tackle possible water shortages arising from El Nino conditions.
He directed district collectors and officials of the water resources, revenue and agriculture departments to coordinate closely to ensure that available water resources are conserved and utilised primarily for drinking water needs.
