With turbidity in the Periyar showing signs of improvement, supply from the Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) treatment plant at Aluva is being restored to near normal level.
The quantity of water being pumped from the plant has touched 210 million litres per day (MLD) on Tuesday evening as against the normal supply of 270 MLD. This was made possible after the turbidity dropped below 100 nephelometric turbidity unit (ntu) from 150 ntu on Monday.
“We had fully restored pumping to areas such as Aluva, Choornikkara and Keezhmadu and partially to Ernakulam by Monday night itself. About 70% of the supply has been restored by now and supply to some areas within Kochi Corporation limits remains to be restored,” said KWA Superintendent Engineer K.K. Anil Kumar.
Turbidity has come down to 30 ntu in Perumbavur area, which KWA officials hope was a sign of increased water flow from the heights.
Water flow
Water level and flow in the Periyar continue to be low and that remains an area of concern.
Reduced water flow may lead to increased turbidity, having a direct impact on pumping. Officials are in the dark over the phenomenon of high turbidity and low water level.
For the time being, the KWA is attributing it to reduced release of water from the hydroelectric power plant at Idamalayar after power generation there was hit owing to a snag.
Though the Chief Engineer of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had told a meeting on Monday that one of the generators would start functioning shortly, it was not immediately known whether that had happened.
High turbidity in the Periyar had forced the KWA to suspend water supply from its water treatment plant at about 3 a.m. on Monday. With supply not yet restored for the second consecutive day, people had a tough time and could be seen gathering around public taps in search of water on Tuesday morning.
“Suspension of pumping from the Aluva plant without prior notice badly affected people in the city limits since they hardly have an alternative source of water,” said Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council president P. Rangadasa Prabhu.