Envisaging a fresh water reservoir in the Arabian sea to impound the flood waters of Netravati river

Abstract

A solution to the water problem in parts of India along the coast is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in coastal reservoirs, and use this water in areas which have occasional inadequate rainfall, or are known to be drought-prone, or in those times of the year when water supplies become scarce. Coastal reservoirs are an innovative concept, which offers the potential to store the flood waters of a river near the point where it flows into the sea and meet the water requirements of water starved cities [1]. Mangaluru city, in Karnataka state, India is blessed with the river Netravati, which carries a great quantity of water during the monsoon and ends up in the sea. The annual runoff at the mouth of the Netravati River is estimated to be 388 thousand cubic meters (TMC). Just 3% of this would be sufficient to meet the present water shortfall of Mangaluru city and Bangalore the capital city of Karnataka. This article describes a feasibility study executed for the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore.