TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: There’s plenty of water available at the Selaulim dam, abundant enough to meet the total requirements of residents of South Goa.
But, with the summer finally setting in, and the demand for water on the rise, South Goa residents may have to contend with restricted water supply as usual, with the infrastructure not keeping pace with the rising demand.
Senior PWD officials say the situation may slightly improve this summer if the Water Resources Department commissions the Verna raw water project so that the department can divert 5 MLD of additional water to the Port Town of Vasco, presently supplied to Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.
As things stand today, the PWD is pumping around 214 MLD of water from the Selaulim Water Treatment Plant to meet the requirements of water consumers of Quepem, Salcete and Mormugao taluka, including the Port town of Vasco. Officials say that 214 MLD of water per day is sufficient enough to meet the requirements of South Goa, but for the substantial percentage of leakages and water distribution infrastructure.
“The existing 1400 dia Selaulim-Margao pipeline does not permit us to pump more than 214 MLD of water. Things will improve only after the JICA funded parallel Selaulim-Margao line is commissioned by 2015,” informed PWD Executive Engineer S R Paranjapee.
He said it is a normal phenomenon that there’s a steep rise in demand for potable water during summer with wells in the villages running dry and a high rate of consumption. “I think we can manage the demand-supply position by judicious use of the water”, he said.
Paranjapee said the Water Resources department can give a big relief to the South Goa water consumers if the department commission the Verna raw water project.
“Presently, the PWD is supplying 5MLD of water to Zuari Agro every day. This water can be diverted for domestic use if the Water Resources department supplies raw water to Zuari. This would give a big relief to the domestic consumers in the Port Town of Vasco”, he said.
Incidentally, while the government has set in motion the process to lay a parallel water supply line from Selaulim to Margao, senior PWD officials has underscored the need to replace the ageing internal water distribution lines in the towns and villages as they have outlived their utility over the years.
