Diseases in the pipeline

KOCHI: As waterborne diseases tighten their grip on the city, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) swears that all steps have been taken to ensure the purity of drinking water. According to the KWA officials, regular chlorination and the “immediate repairing” of leakages are being done across the city.“Chlorination is the main method of water purification on such a large scale. On a regular basis, chlorination is being done at the Aluva pump house and then at the regional pumping stations in the city. Super-chlorination of all the ground-level water tanks is also being done,” said K S Babu, executive engineer (PH Division), KWA. When asked about the cleaning of water tanks, Jain Raj, Assistant Engineer, KWA, said that regular cleaning takes place once in every six months or when the water quality goes down, whichever is earlier. “The water sample from each tank is tested every month and if the quality of water is lower than the required level, the tank will be cleaned immediately. Otherwise, the tank is cleaned once in  six months. The frequency of cleaning depends on the extent of usage in each tank,” he said. “In case of a reported leakage, the maintenance contractor of the area will be informed and speedy action  taken,” he added.However, the ground reality seems to contradict the KWA’s version. “Acute shortage of potable water is one of the major issues facing the residents of Fort Kochi,” said Antony Kureethara, Councillor, Fort Kochi Division.“More than 300 families in the area are dependent on public water taps. Even those who have access to running water have to make do with the murky water that comes through the water authority’s pipes owing to breakages in the underground pipes,” he added.“Most of the pipelines that carry potable water are ancient; a majority of them are more than three decades old. In such a case, it is only natural that frequent seepage of impurities into potable water occurs,” said M H M Ashraf, Councillor, Kochangadi Division. “Although many plans were made to replace the pipes, none of them materialised. The tenders floated for the purpose were turned down stating that they were too costly. Even after a re-tendering was made, action is yet to be taken,” he added.