Karnataka's Almatti dam storage capacity may be hit as trash fills backwaters

The unabated dumping of hundreds of truck loads of mud, construction debris and trash in the backwaters of Almatti Dam (Lal Bahadur Shastri Dam) is likely to affect the water storage capacity of the reservoir in the district.

The dam can store 123 tmcft of water at the height of 519.6 mtrs. Currently, the water storage stands at 507.88 mtrs with 20.97 tmcft of water. Excluding the dead storage, 3.35 tmcft of water is available for usage.

The Karnataka Engineering Research Station has conducted a survey with regard to the accumulation of silt in the dam, but a report is yet to be submitted to the Central Water Commission.

In 2008, Delhi-based Tojo Vikas International Pvt conducted a study and submitted a report that 2.78 tmcft of silt had accumulated in Almatti Dam.

In Tungabhadra Dam, more than 30 tmcft of silt is accumulated significantly reducing the water storage capacity. A situation has arisen where it is neither possible to remove the silt from the dam nor construct a balancing reservoir to store the water that has been lost due to accumulation of silt. As a result, area under irrigation is decreasing.

River Krishna and its tributaries naturally bring silt and sediments that get accumulated in the dam. If construction debris and other trash is dumped in the empty backwaters, it will aggravate the accumulation of silt and seriously reduce water storage capacity.

Incidentally, the work on the four-laning of the national highway between Shirur Cross and Gaddankeri Cross is under progress and construction materials like stones and sand have been dumped in the empty backwaters. This has prompted the residents to dump construction debris at the site.

During monsoon, some of this debris will be carried by river water and deposited in the dam, while the rest will get submerged in the backwaters, said Sangamesh Doddamani of Bagalkot.

The sewage water from Bagalkot is also entering Almatti dam, through River Ghataprabha. Incidentally, the dam supplies drinking water to Bagalkot town and other villages.

“The dumping of trash, including construction debris, in the empty backwaters of Almatti dam has not come to our notice. We will conduct a probe in this regard,” said Naveed Khazi, junior engineer, Bagalkot CMC.