Mangaluru : After the city faced an acute water crisis this summer, planners here have come out with an integrated water management approach.

It included re-charging borewells in the jurisdiction of the corporation; putting a cap on drilling borewells; rejuvenating five waterbodies; making rainwater harvesting compulsory for buildings; storing water up to five metres height in the new vented dam being completed at Thumbe; ensuring continued water supply from Lakya Dam of KIOCL Ltd. at Kudremukh; and plugging leakage of sewage from manholes and underground sewage from the old network.

Addressing presspersons at Thumbe on Friday J.R. Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru City South, and a former Commissioner of the Mangaluru City Corporation, said that the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB), which was completing a new vented dam at Thumbe, on the downstream of the existing dam, would be asked to ensure that water was stored up to a height of five metres by the end of this year.

The maximum storage level of the existing dam is four metres.

He said that the new dam was being built to store water up to a maximum height of seven metres. But water could be stored up to a height of five metres without submergence of more land on the banks of the Nethravati. If water was to be stored beyond a height of five metres, many areas would be submerged for which a survey was under progress now.

Mr. Lobo said that some streams joined the river near the Thumbe Dam. If water was stored up to five metres height, there would be a possibility of reverse flow in such streams.

The KUWSDB would be asked to stop it by taking up suitable steps. He said that steps would be taken to ensure that industries got maximum yield of treated sewage water from the Jeppinamogaru and Surathkal sewage treatment plants.

Mr. Lobo said that the new vented dam was expected to be completed by May-end. It was likely to be completed by June-end.