The breakdown in the plant had affected the water supply to larger parts of the city. A day after exceptionally heavy rainfall, waterlogging brought Asia’s largest water treatment facility- Bhandup complex to break down, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now planning perimeter protection by laying down a stormwater drainage line around the complex.
BMC has found out that parts of the stormwater drainage system was inadvertently closed during the construction of a second filtration unit at the complex, which led to floodwater and mud entering the premises on Saturday night. The breakdown in the plant had affected the water supply to larger parts of the city.
The 365-acre complex treats 2,810 million litres of water every day and caters to 65 per cent of the city’s population. The complex is surrounded by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Vihar lake catchment area, hillocks with the park premises.
After nearly 90 mm rainfall in an hour (around 2 am on Saturday) floodwater and mud entered the filtration unit of the complex, as there was no floodwater channel or stormwater drain around the complex to carry it away.
It prompted BMC engineers to shut all the pumps around the unit halting the filtration and treatment process and water supply to the city. Water supply was restored in some areas on Sunday evening, while the rest of the city received a regular water supply on Monday morning.
BMC has now decided to construct a flood protection wall around the entire complex and a stormwater drain line along with the complex. The civic body will also request the SGNP to construct a drainage system to divert floodwater coming from the sanctuary area towards the Tulsi Lake.
P Velrasu, Additional Municipal Commissioner, who visited the site on Monday, said, “I have also instructed the team to increase the rainwater carrying capacity of the existing stormwater drainage system running through the complex.”
The Bhandup filtration plant, which began operations in 1980, had witnessed flooding earlier before Saturday’s incident. The facility houses over 400 civic employees.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
