SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
The record rainfall that the State received this past monsoon brings the assurance that Goa will not face a water shortage for the second consecutive year before the monsoon of 2021. As per the figures given by the Water Resources Department, all seven dams – Anjunem, Chapoli, Selaulim, Amthane, Panchawadi, Gaunem and Tillari – were found to be filled to capacity at the end of the monsoon, which means there is enough water in the reservoirs for irrigation and drinking purposes. It also means that Goa will not have to depend on water from the mining pits for its needs in the months ahead, especially the summer months of March to May.
The reservoirs today, at the end of the monsoon, may be filled to over 100 per cent, but the efficacy of the storage system can be judged only next year and the comparison to the summer of 2020 cannot be made without taking into consideration the peculiar situation that prevailed during those months. It has to be recalled that while Goa did not face a shortage of water last summer, the period coincided with the pandemic-induced lockdown when economic activity came to an abrupt halt. Industry remained shut down, so did tourism and the construction sector, which uses up a large amount of water. That situation may not prevail in the coming summer, and it could possibly be business close to the usual at that time.
What is pertinent here is that the Water Resources Department is pretty certain that Goa will not face a shortage of water in the months ahead before June 2021. In previous years, water from the mining pits had been put to use in several villages that had been faced with water shortages due to the weak monsoon of the previous years. The monsoon has been abundant, and with the 337 bandaras full, the department does not see the likelihood of any shortage, as this water will be stored and made available in April-May, the months when the rivers start drying up.
Here’s a question: If Goa’s water storage system is so well managed, that there is an adequate quantity of water for the months ahead until the next monsoon, is there need to build 59 more dams in the Mhadei basin for drinking and irrigation purposes? Herald had reported last week the plan to have 61 dams in Goa’s River Mhadei basin of which two – Anjunem and Amthane – have already been constructed. These projects are not new but part of the masterplan that was formulated in 1999. They have come into focus as surveys have started to take up ten of the dams for construction.
In light of the filled reservoirs, Goa may have to rethink the plan for the dams. Admittedly, the reservoirs are filled to capacity due to the excess rainfall that the State received this year. Goa may not be lucky enough to receive this amount of rain annually. Simultaneously, the demand for water will increase every year and provisions to meet the demand have to be made. Can these provisions for the additional demand be met without building another 59 dams in the River Mhadei basin? That is the project that the Water Resources Department has to take up on an urgent basis.
If Goa’s current water needs can be met with the storage in the bandaras. besides the water in the dams that the State has at present, then the water for the additional demand could come through a proper rainwater harvesting system. The bandaras appear to be proving effective, and there could be more constructed so as to store more rain water for the future needs. All it requires is a little amount of planning rather than myriad dams in the River Mhadei basin.
