Belagavi: Continuous rainfall over the past three days has brought much-needed relief to Belagavi, with fresh inflows resuming into the Rakaskop reservoir, one of the city’s two key drinking water sources. Officials said the reservoir’s catchment area has received 349 mm of rainfall so far this monsoon, raising hopes of an improvement in the city’s water supply situation.The reservoir’s water level currently stands at 2,447 feet and has been rising steadily by around 0.2 feet a day since inflows resumed. Although the city continues to draw water from the reservoir’s dead storage to meet daily demand, the fresh inflows have eased concerns over the worsening drinking water crisis.Rakaskop reservoir has a storage capacity of 0.5 tmcft and reaches its full reservoir level at 2,477 feet. The catchment received 19 mm of rainfall on Wednesday alone, contributing to the gradual rise in storage. However, officials said sustained heavy rainfall in the coming days will be crucial for the reservoir to fill up and ensure an adequate drinking water supply throughout the year.Despite the recent improvement, the reservoir remains significantly below last year’s level. On July 2, 2025, the water level stood at 2,471 feet, nearly 24 feet higher than the current level, following a stronger monsoon.Rakaskop and the Hidkal dam are Belagavi’s two main drinking water sources. As Rakaskop slipped into dead storage in recent weeks, only about 20% of its usable water could be drawn, placing additional pressure on the Hidkal dam. The shortfall forced the Belagavi City Corporation to extend tap water supply intervals in many localities from the usual six to seven days to 10-15 days, causing hardship for residents.Meanwhile, widespread rainfall across the city on Thursday and Friday brought relief from the prolonged dry spell. While waterlogging was reported in a few low-lying areas and intermittent showers disrupted market activity and traffic, deputy mayor Hanumant Kongali expressed optimism that continued rainfall would replenish the city’s water sources and help restore regular drinking water supply.
