Dry river & depleting reservoir push T’puram district towards water crisis

Thiruvananthapuram: The district is edging toward a full-blown drinking water crisis. As stretches of the Vamanapuram River have been reduced to exposed riverbed and Peppara Dam on the Karamana River holding barely 45 days of usable storage, authorities have been forced into emergency measures to sustain supply across Thiruvananthapuram. Near the Aylam pump house, the Vamanapuram River has virtually run dry, disrupting normal intake operations. Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials say water is now being drawn from isolated sand pits and stagnant pockets into collection wells using hoses—a stopgap that cannot hold for long. "This is an exceptional situation. What we are doing now cannot be sustained," a KWA official in Attingal said. The Vamanapuram scheme serves large parts of Chirayinkeezhu and Varkala taluks, along with Kazhakkoottam and Venjaramoodu—over three lakh household connections depend on pumping stations in the Attingal region. Against a daily requirement of around 40 million litres, current availability has dropped sharply, forcing authorities to scale back supply. Residents in elevated areas of Chirayinkeezhu and Varkala have gone without piped water for days, while erratic supply has been reported from Kazhakkoottam, Sreekaryam and Kulathoor. The stress is no longer confined to the suburbs. Peppara Dam, which feeds the Aruvikkara treatment system, holds around 20 million cubic metres, enough for roughly 45 days at the current rate of supply of 400 million litres per day. If inflow does not improve, usable storage could be exhausted by early May. Peppara supplies most of the city, including Thampanoor, Palayam, Pattom, Kowdiar, Sreekaryam and the Technopark corridor. To conserve reserves, KWA has reduced pumping capacity at several locations. Officials also noted that demand has surged amid intense summer conditions, with consumption remaining high even as sources weaken. Special squads have been deployed to check misuse of drinking water. KWA warned of strict action, including disconnection, against use of piped water for vehicle washing, irrigation or commercial purposes. With both key sources under simultaneous stress, officials say the coming weeks are critical. "If the monsoon arrives by early June, the situation can stabilise. Otherwise, major supply disruption becomes a real possibility," a senior official associated with the Peppara system said.