Hyderabad: Despite the arrival of the southwest monsoon, catchment areas feeding Hyderabad’s major reservoirs have received poor rainfall, raising concerns over the city’s water security.Water levels in the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs have fallen to dead storage levels, forcing authorities to run emergency pumping to maintain supplies. In Singur, water storage has fallen to just 4.5 TMC against its full capacity of 29.9 TMC, leaving the reservoir with less than 20% of its storage.Against this backdrop, a high-level review meeting chaired by Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan along with senior officials was held on Monday to formulate advance plans for ensuring uninterrupted drinking water supply across the state. The meeting reviewed water availability in major reservoirs, monsoon inflows, urban drinking water requirements, and projected demand during the next summer season.HMWSSB MD K Ashok Reddy noted that the available reserves in the Manjeera and Singur reservoirs, as well as water supplied through Godavari sources, are currently sufficient only until Sep 30. To ensure Hyderabad’s drinking water security through the next summer, the water board requested the irrigation department to maintain a minimum reserve of 16 TMC in the Singur reservoir.The engineer-in-chief of Mission Bhagiratha Kripakar Reddy stated that the current water availability in the Singur catchment area would be adequate for only about 45 more days. In view of this situation, officials were advised to prepare contingency plans to prevent drinking water shortages in areas dependent on Singur water resources.Ashok Reddy also informed that Hyderabad’s drinking water needs can be met until the end of June 2027 through the Krishna water system and the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs.
