Turbid rivers cause acute water shortage in Aizawl & Champhai

Aizawl: Residents of Aizawl city and Champhai town, bordering Myanmar, have been facing serious and acute shortage of water as the rivers from where water supply are drawn are completely turbid because of the first heavy pre-monsoon rain last Friday.
Public health engineering (PHE) department said the nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU) was 932 at 8.15am on Saturday, making it impossible to be treated for drinking. "We have to stop pumping the water to the main reservoir in Aizawl due to extreme turbidity," a PHE engineer said.
The rainfall continued on Saturday and Sunday morning. Officials said the Tlawng river, the source of Aizawl water supply, has become so turbid because of tributaries originating from Aizawl city. Residents frequently throw garbage and soil into these streams.
A large number of localities have failed to receive water from the PHE connection due to the problem and the department has appealed to Aizawl residents to implement austerity measures regarding water usage.
Champhai town has also been facing water scarcity due to the high turbidity of Tuipui river which supplies water to the town residents. PHE department officials said they did not know when they would be able to pump the water from the river.