KOCHI: With Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) reducing the amount of water being pumped from Aluva due to high turbidity in Periyar, the residents in the city are a worried lot. But District Collector
K Muhammed Y Safirullah has assured potable water supply will not be affected.According to him, the pump house at Aluva is supplying water. “Around 29 million litre water is pumped by the Aluva pump house on a normal day. However, due to turbidity, this has been reduced to 23.8 million litres. So, there has been only a 20 per cent reduction in potable water supply,” he said.
However, the District Collector urged the citizens to use water judiciously. Potable water is supplied to Aluva, Keezhmade, Choornnikara, Kalamassery, Thrikakkara, Kochi Corporation, Mulavukad, Njarakkal, Elukkunnapuzha and Cheranelloor by the Aluva pump house. The District Collector issued the statement after a meeting that was held at the KWA assistant executive engineer’s office.
Anil Augustine, assistant executive engineer, KWA, said, “All three pumping stations are now functional, but the volume of water being pumped stands at 80 per cent of the total installed capacity.” He said the turbidity of water now stands at 130 NTU, which is set to increase once the excess water from Cheruthoni shutter release enters the district.
According to K Minimol, chairperson, health standing committee of the Kochi Corporation, at present no shortage of potable water has been reported since the pump at Maradu is operating full time.
However, Rangadasa Prabhu, president, Ernakulam District Residents’ Association Apex Council (EDRAAC), said, “The KWA should have foreseen such a situation and come with a plan to mitigate it. The department should not be shrugging their responsibility. Who else is responsible?”
He said all departments, whether KWA or KSEB, need to be prepared to ensure no disruption in power or potable water supply happens whenever a natural calamity strikes. “Instead of just issuing a warning and sending the people into a panic mode, they should act. Let them set up rainwater harvesters in the entire district. So when there is scarcity in summer or a problem of excess occurs in monsoon, they are ready to tackle it promptly and in a timely manner,” he said.
Every household in the city was in a panic mode. “We have been ensuring that the water tank at our house is full. Usually, we only pump once a day. But following the news that water supply might disrupt, we pumped water twice,” said Neena Ravi, a resident of Trivarna Road.People even stored water in all available vessels. “Who wants to be caught short of potable water. It always pays to cautious,” said Mini Thomas of Kaloor.