THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Operations of the state-run Aruvikkara water bottling plant in the capital have come to a grinding halt due to a defunct ultrafiltration unit. Run by the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC), the plant has been temporarily shut down for maintenance.
Since the takeover of the plant in 2020 from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), KIIDC has been struggling to keep the plant afloat owing to the poor quality of water being pumped by the KWA from the 72 mld water treatment plant at Aruvikkara.
It is learned that the plant lacks an iron removal mechanism and the water supplied by the plant was laden with iron beyond permissible levels. An official said that the plant has not been completely shut down and distribution is ensured by bringing supplies from the Thodupuzha plant. In an effort to resume operations of the bottling unit at the earliest, the authorities had invited tenders to fix the ultrafiltration unit.
“We will open the tender soon and the plant is expected to resume operation within the next two weeks. The presence of iron content is very high and we have installed equipment worth Rs 4 lakh for iron removal. Once the maintenance work is done we are hoping to operate the plant in a full-fledged manner,” the official added.
According to sources, the iron content is very high in the water at Peppara dam and it increases when the water level goes down during summer.
An official of the KWA said that the iron content is within the range. “As per norms, the iron content can go up to 1 ppm in the treated water and it’s within the limits. But the standards of the bottling unit are different and for them, the limit should come within 0.1 ppm,” said the official.
KWA authorities also expressed concern about the rise in iron content. “We also need to find solutions as year after year the presence of iron is increasing. As of now there is no issue and certainly, in the future, this is a matter to worry about,” the official added.
The 72 mld plant, one of the oldest plants in Aruvikkara, supplies water to the Vellayambalam region – the core area of the capital. The ambitious bottling plant project was originally conceived in 2007 and was granted administrative sanction in 2013. Later owing to technical reasons KWA had to hand over the plant, which was implemented at a cost of `13 crore to KIIDC in 2020.