PONDA: The officials at Opa water works have confirmed that there is no need to worry about meeting the water requirement of locals from Tiswadi and Ponda talukas as they claimed that there is sufficient quantity of raw water to maintain the normal water supply.
The Opa plant receives water from Dudhsagar River and 18 bandharas located upstream.
The officials said that despite the release of water from some bandharas there is no need for concern as the plant receives water from Ganjem-Usgao bandhara, Salaulim Dam and also raw water is additionally pumped from some mining pits in Dharbandora taluka.
According to Jaywant Prabhu, Assistant Engineer at OPA water works said, “On Thursday, the water levels at Opa Dam were measured at 3.03 cubic metres. The Water Resources Department (WRD) has begun pumping water from two mining pits to increase the water level which is normally maintained at 3.5 metres.”
WRD officials assured that there is enough raw water in pits to prevent water shortage this summer.
The officials said the Mhadei Bandhara also supplies water to the OPA plant. For the past month, Opa has been receiving continuous water from Salaulim Dam.
The Opa water works facility comprises five water treatment plants which collectively supply approximately 152 to 170 MLD of potable water to five constituencies in Tiswadi and four constituencies in Ponda.
There are five water treatment Plants at Opa which include 8 MLD built during the Portuguese era in 1957, 12 MLD commissioned in 1972, 55 MLD commenced in 2006, 40 MLD in 2006 and 27 MLD in 2020.
The 40 and 27 MLD plants cater to the potable water needs of Tiswadi taluka, while water from the remaining plants is supplied to both Tiswadi and Ponda talukas as well as parts of Valpoi and Dharbandora.