Fall in water level: Possibility of salt water seeping in

Bajpe: The water level at the vented dam built under Malavoor multi-village drinking water project has dropped and possibly a scenario of lack of drinking water may arise.

The difference in water level between the drinking water in the dam and the flowing backwater (salty) is only a foot. If the gates of the vented dam are not placed as soon as possible, there is a possibility, the salt water from the back water will seep into the drinking water in the dam.

Initially, the Malavoor multi village drinking water project was limited to the 11 villages of 7 Gram Panchayats (GP). Later the drinking water project was extended to 14 villages including Kolambe Souharda Nagara, Delanthabettu and others.

The vented dam which is built across the Gurpur River altogether has 80 vents comprising of 320 gates. Observing the flow of the water, the gates were place last November. But this time, the water level has dropped all of a sudden, and hence, inevitably the gates will have to be placed within a week.

Water level dropped within a month

The water level in the river has fallen by 8 feet within the span of a month. The water which was overflowing the vented dam on August 16^th has now fallen by 8 feet and only one foot of water level difference between the salt water and the drinking water exists when the gates will be placed.

Rural drinking water, cleanliness committee selection

The selection for the rural drinking water and cleanliness committee has been conducted. Jokatte GP president is the president of the committee. Permude GP president is the vice-president of the committee. There is need for monthly meeting to be conducted on the issue of the dam and a decision needs to be taken on the solution after discussion.

Except for Kolambe Souharda Nagara which comes under city north Vidhana Sabha constituency, the rest come under the limits of Mulki-Moodbidri constituency limits where this project has been implemented.

The water level has dropped

“The water level in the wells and lakes in the GP limits has dropped. The water which flows through the drains in the month of March and April has already become less. If there is no rain in another 15 days, the gates will have to be placed at Malavoor vented dam. Precaution needs to be taken to make sure the salt water does not mix with the drinking water,” said Ganesh Arbi, Malavoor GP president.

Article by Subraya Nayak Ekkaru translated to English by Aaron Dmello