Kurnool:Kurnool city is unlikely to face any drinking water shortage this year, even during the remaining peak summer, thanks to the Sunkesula reservoir being nearly full.The reservoir, which is the city’s primary water source, currently holds 1.2 TMC feet of water against Kurnool’s annual requirement of 1.5 TMC feet. Further, municipal officials have confirmed that there is sufficient stock to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the city.Over 95 per cent of the households in the city depend on the municipal corporation for drinking water. Last year, due to depleted sources, officials had to draw water from the Gajuladinne project, located over 70 km away, even though it had low level of water. It held just 1.47 TMC feet of water against its total capacity of 4.5 TMC feet.Sunkesula barrage itself had dried up completely due to scant rainfall and soaring temperatures. At one point, it held a mere 0.030 TMC feet against its full capacity of 1.2 TMC feet, forcing officials to ration water supply to once every five days in many colonies.The city’s daily requirement is 70–75 MLD (million litres per day). But authorities could manage only 50–55 MLD at the peak of the crisis. Tungabhadra River too had dried up.Learning from last year’s challenges, officials took proactive action and filled the Sunkesula reservoir to 1.2 TMC feet well in advance this year. “With this storage, there will be no drinking water problem for the next 7–8 months. Managing even during the severe summer months will not be an issue,” said a senior official from the water works department of the civic body.Presently, Sunkesula, built across the Tungabhadra River, is brimming with water even though it is mid-May. This aspect is being attributed to proper utilisation of the state’s allocated share from the Tungabhadra Dam. Officials said there is still a possibility of receiving an additional 1 TMC of water.Municipal deputy executive engineer Naresh confirmed that Kurnool city will not face any drinking water issues this year due to abundant water reserves.
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