KOZHIKODE: Water gushing from damaged pipelines or leaking from faulty public taps is a common sight across the state. However, this loss of water, coupled with water thefts, is causing a loss of a whopping `576 crore to the state exchequer per year. The precious water lost through leaks, burst pipes and thefts also accounts for nearly 40% of the water pumped by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) after treatment at various plant s annually.
A report submitted by the KWA to the chief secretary recently said every year, it treats a total of 2,873.05 MLD (millions of litres per day) of water at its 242 plants at an estimated average production cost of Rs 1,438.96 crore.
With around 40% of water flowing into drains due to leakage or going to unauthorised connections, KWA is incurring a loss of `576 crore every year as only 1,723.83 MLD of water is being billed. A KWA officer said the authority has no exact, separate data on water being wasted due to leaks and illegal use.
“It is assessed around 40% of water is not being billed, mainly due to leakage and other factors,” said the officer, adding that water theft is another issue that affects KWA’s revenue. He said commercial consumers, including hotels, hospitals and construction sites, are major law-breakers.
Min seeks report on revenue loss
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine told TNIE that the government is taking the issue seriously and KWA has been asked to prepare a detailed report on loss of revenue after finding out the exact points of water leakage and other reasons. “Once I get the report, a detailed action plan will be prepared to address the issue,” he said. He said damage to pipelines is not the lone reason for massive leakage. “There are other issues, including leakage at treatment plants and overflow of water at storage units. Hence, replacing pipelines will not resolve the issue. Still, efforts are on to replace old pipes,” he said.
KWA nugg ets
KWA has 242 water treatment plants, 692well-cum-pump houses
It supplies water through 75,000-km pipeline across the state
It has 26 lakh functional household tap connection and 2 lakh street tap connections