If monsoon is less than normal, Karnataka might have to dip into dead storage for drinking supply
It looks set to be a long, hot summer for Karnataka. After a poor monsoon, most reservoirs in the state are well below a comfortable level. The Krishna Raja Sagara Dam, or KRS dam, built on the Cauvery in Mandya district is a main source of drinking water for Bangalore, Mysuru, Mandya and other towns and for irrigation in the fertile Mandya district which has its main crops of sugarcane and rice.
But no water is being released for irrigation now and only a small amount of water is being released for Mysuru's drinking water needs.
The fear is that if the life-saving monsoon is anything less than normal, Karnataka might have to dip into the dead storage for drinking supply.
Karnataka's irrigation minister, MB Patil, told NDTV "Karnataka is facing a very serious situation. We are contemplating water rationing and making sure there is no wastage."
Right now, the priority is drinking water.
According to the Central Water Commission in Delhi, nine of the state's 14 reservoirs that it tracks have less water this year than last year's level. Overall, the state's reservoirs have 38% less than the normal storage level.
But it is Krishna Raja Sagara reservoir that is among the worst off. It is here that the water level is one-third of the average over the last 10 years.
At the dam, Executive Engineer, K Basavaraje Gowda, told NDTV that release of irrigation water has stopped.
"Right now there is 10.91 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) gross storage as against an average of 23 TMC at this time of year. The average height of water at this time is 100 to 110 feet. Now it is only 80.3 feet. There is an outflow of only 212 cusecs - of which 100 cusecs are for Mysuru's drinking water," Mr Basavaraje said.
The sight of the dry, brown areas of the KRS dam is a strong visual sign of what Karnataka could be facing. A long dry summer, with just not enough water to go around.