Thiruvananthapuram: KWA on a mission to replace old pipelines with new ones

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has embarked on a mission to replace the old pipes in the city to get rid of the frequent pipe leaks and pipe bursts. Even though fund shortage is preventing the KWA authorities from changing the entire old pipes, it has been decided to replace the pipes at least in the most vulnerable areas, where leaks are being reported frequently.
Most of the old pipes are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes, which are outdated, and were laid 20 years ago. Main pipelines (pipes having 500mm size or above) cover an area of around 800km in the city areas, of which 204k-m stretch is having old pipes. Now, the KWA mulls replacing the old pipes in a phased manner to make it 100% leak free.
The KWA at present has started the works to replace the old HDPE pipes with mild-steel pipes in a 15-km stretch between Peroorkada and Kudappanakkunnu. Works have already started in the four-km stretch between Observatory and Government Ayurveda College to replace old pipes with high-ductile iron pipes.
The high-ductile iron pipes and mild-steel pipes are long-lasting, rust-free and able to sustain high pressure.
The particular stretches were included in the priority list after frequent leaks were reported and water supply was disrupted a number of times in the recent past. The KWA engineers have been asked to identify areas where pipe leaks are reported frequently and to replace them on a war-footing.
“Lack of funds coupled with the delay in getting permission for cutting roads is a setback for replacing the old pipes. With the available funds, we have been doing the replacement works in a phased manner,” said KWA superintendent M V Sivasankaran.
As per the KWA, the stretch between Peroorkada and Kudappanakkunnu and the places like Karamana, Statue, Government Ayurveda College, Observatory, Poojapura, Vizhinjam, Venganoor, Manvila, Powdikonam and Technopark are the worst affected due to frequent leaks. When minor leaks occur in pipes, the authorities do some temporary patch-up work and the same spot leaks again.
The officials are of the view that unless the old pipes are totally replaced with new ones, this issue cannot be resolved permanently.
“The leakage in pipes has been found as the most important cause of disruption of the water supply in the city,’’ said Sivasankaran.