HYDERABAD: To bring down the Unaccounted For Water (UFW) and to check pilferage of water through illegal water connections in the Division-2 of Old City, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) will take up a pilot project called ‘District Metering Area (DMA)’ Project.
Nearly 70 per cent of water supplied by HMWS&SB to the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Division-2 which mostly covers the old city areas is going as UFW. Of the 48.94 MGD water supplied to the division, only 13 MGD water is billed while 35.89 MGD is non revenue water. Of 81,801 consumers, about 38,490 are paying the bills (47 per cent).
The DMA project envisages plugging of water leakages, minimise losses in the distribution system and check pilferage. With the UFW project, the HMWS&SB aims to bring it down to 20 per cent. The Water Board has proposed to install bulk flow meters for group of dockets in the configuration of DMA for water audit and accountability and to reduce UFW to 20 per cent overall in the jurisdiction of O&M 2.
As AMR meters installed for bulk consumers last year proving to be successful in water audit, under DMA, bulk flow meters for dockets in Division-2 would be installed at a tentative cost of `450 crore. The project would be implemented with loan assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
HMWS&SB officials told Express that Division-2 was selected for the DMA project was based on certain parameters such as water is going to one connection, how many consumers are paying the bills, UFW, O&M expenditure incurred in a year and working staff in the division.
Through DMA project, the Board can plug the loopholes whether water is getting lost due to pipeline leakages, losses in the distribution system or commercial losses illegal connections, tampering of water meters or consumers have more than one water connection and faulty water meters etc.
Consultants have prepared Detailed Project Report with technical proposals for the divisions by determining remedial and improvement measures in the areas assigned to reduce UFW to 20 pc overall in the O&M 2.
No Strikes at HMWSSB
The Telangana government issued orders prohibiting strikes in all services connected with the maintenance of water supply, sewerage and distribution in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) for a further period of six months with effect from September 29.