Thiruvananthapuram: It was said that availability of drinking water will be the next biggest crisis awaiting those in flood-hit areas. Had employees of
Kerala water authority (
KWA) not worked tirelessly to maintain flooded pump houses, the situation would have turned worse.
Just as the
flood water receded, KWA rectified and made operational more than 90% of water supply schemes in the state.
During the flood, the KWA engineers risked their lives to reach the intake pump house at Aluva, wading through 6-feet-deep water. A team of officials made a makeshift boat using locally available materials and crossed the water to reach the pump house. “We were able to complete works and make Aluva scheme operational. The KWA staff had to dismantle several electrical equipment and take it to ovens used for drying machines. In Maradu, some employees stayed in upper floors of nearby buildings and waited so that they could start pumping immediately when water receded. Directions were given to ensure that they won’t get electric shock,” said KWA chief engineer of central region Swaminath P N.
Babu Thomas, chief engineer of northern region, said the department sought the support of divers of Navy to clear mud from the main well located six metres under the river to operate the Pattuvam scheme in Kannur. “The Navy personnel dived and cleaned the well using jetting machine,” he said adding that barring around six schemes each at Malappuram and Palakkad, all schemes in the region are operational.
The team of KWA engineers in southern region are taking stock of the situation at flood-affected Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. Southern region chief engineer Sreekumar said that most schemes in flood-hit regions were made functional within hours after flood water receded. KWA has formed a quality control committee to ensure quality of water distributed at the relief centres.
Meanwhile, KWA is taking steps to install around 49 reverse osmosis plants in areas which face drinking water issues. The RO plants, donated to the state by the Telangana government have reached Thiruvananthapuram airport.
The RO plants have a capacity to purify 1,000 litres of water per hour. The KWA is planning to install eight RO plants each in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Wayanad districts, five in Kottayam, 10 in Ernakulam, seven in Thrissur and three in Malappuram. Some plants will be installed near relief camps.
