If Water Rationing has Started in City, but WHY Water Wastage due to Faulty/Leaky Pipes?
Mangaluru: Officials saying that the inflow into the Thumbe vented dam had completely stopped, so there will be supply for four days and it will be halted for two days. The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has said that it will enforce water rationing with immediate effect, supplying water for 96 hours (four days) and halting the same for the next 48 hours (two days).
An official release here said inflow into the Netravathi and the Thumbe vented dam had completely stopped thereby forcing the civic authority to judiciously distribute the available water till the arrival of monsoon. The existing system of water distribution to wards will continue as it is for 96 hours and discontinued for 48 hours. This arrangement is purely temporary and will be revoked if there was sufficient inflow into the Thumbe dam following summer showers. The corporation has formed a team of engineers to ensure proper supply of water to the residents. If residents find any problem in water supply, they may call the water helpline, 0824-2220303 (Bendore) or 0824-2220364 (Panambur-Surathkal).
Other Telephone numbers, for complaints pertaining to specific wards, the public may contact engineers concerned. Names of the wards, names of engineers and their phone numbers are as follows: Surathkal East and West: Lavanya, junior engineer (JE), 9482083825; Kulai, Baikampady, Panambur and Bengre: KrishnamurthyReddy, JE, 9741635737; Katipalla, Katipalla East and North, Idya East and West, and Hosabettu: Abdul Khader, JE, 9448216005, Surathkal area assistant executive engineer (AEE) Ravishankar, 9341353399; Kunjathabail (ward 15), Bangra Kulur, Panjimogaru and Tiruvail: Latha, JE, 9741490412; Marakada, Kunjathabail (ward 13), Derebail (ward 17), Kavoor, Pachchanadi West, Kadri Padavu, Derebail (ward 23), Derebail South and Derebail (ward 25): Suvarna, JE, 9845415965; Kodialbail, KadriSouth, Shivabagh, Padavu Central and East, Maroli, Bendore, Falnir, Court, Central and Dongerkeri: Mithun, JE, 9481385944; Derebail (ward 26), Boloor, Bejai, KadriNorth, Alape North, Kannur, Bajal, Jeppinamogaru, Attavara, Mangaladevi, Hoige Bazar, Bolara and Jeppu: Richard D’Souza, JE, 9110430336; Mannagudda, Kambla, Cantonment, Milagris, Kankanady and Kankanady B: Deeksha, JE, 9632455841 and Kudroli, Bunder and Port: Yashwanth Prabhu, assistant engineer, 9743412642, and city area AEE Naresh Shenoy, 9448502777.
Water leakage at Mary Hill
But on the other hand when the City is facing water shortage, and citizens are finding a hard time to get the required water needed for consumption, we see a couple of water leakage 24 hours due to faulty/leaking water pipes- and will be only on Monday, that this problem could be fixed, due to holiday of second Saturday, followed by Sunday. Right now the water rationing is : Sat,Sun.-supply; Mon-no supply; Tuesday: supply; Wednesday: No supply; Thursday: Supply; and Friday: Partial supply. One of the member of Area Sabha and Ward Committee has questioned “Can we claim zero billing for the rationed drinking water supply for 400 Lakh Litres intentionally and deliberately wasted everyday due to negligence in the absence of Ward Committee and Area Sabhas? We should demand our dues”.
There is a water leakage due to a faulty pipe near Mary Hill (Corporator in-charge our “Karate Simha” Ms Kavitha Sanil), Water leakage at Kadri Pumpwell-opp to Natural Ice Cream (Corporator- D K Ashok Kumar), and water leakage at Bendore Pumping station tank, and opposite ‘Cherry Square’ (near St Theresa School, Bendore) (Corporator-Naveen D’souza)
water leakage at Bendore
The water pipe which has resulted in losing gallons and gallons of water 24X7 is very next to my house at Kadri Pumpwell, opposite to Kadri Natural’s Ice cream shack- and even though many times it has been fixed, the leakage problem happens again and again. This has been a long time problem, where after complaints the concerned people come and do a incomplete- and few days later it’s once again, the same problem of water leakage. And presently it is much more worse, with water oozing out continuously, and overflowing surrounding areas. But no MCC officials nor the corporator has taken any action to fix this problem.
While MCC claims that it has to collect payment of water bills in crores – and on the other hand MCC is losing gallons of water due to faulty connection of water pipes or due to rusty water pipes. While most of the City is dying of thirst due to low water supply during summer times, and here we have water being lost due to human error and negligence. Water leaks are becoming a bigger cause for concern with corporations/municipalities desperately trying to conserve more water, while trying to decrease the amount of clean water that is being wasted through burst water pipes.
water leakage at Cherry Square
Old water infrastructure has been a problem for MCC with old metal pipes rusting, loose bolts giving way, and clean water gushing onto the street or into drains, costing a fortune in revenue. So how much water does the city actually lose because of this? A LOT! The City’s creaking water system is leaking thousands of litres every day in regions currently facing usage restrictions as reservoirs run perilously low during hot weather. Many a times MCC warns residents to limit their water usage during summer, but don’t bother to fix leaky or faulty pipes that leak out gallons of water. Bah humbug!
Locals say this is indicative of the volume of water being wasted and leaking out of the city’s aging water infrastructure. If the leaks were fixed there would be no need to conserve water. If you examine some of the MCC water connection pipes you will notice some shocking results- most pipes in the distribution system in a bad condition. The pipes are either leaking and the dead ends capped with wooden/metal corks increasing the likelihood of water-borne diseases. Presence of heavy metals like iron and lead corroding from the pipes and joints could far exceed limits of safe drinking water. Sadly, MCC doesn’t care about citizens health safety.
water leakage at Kadri
Some of pipes looked new; most were older and had sprung tiny leaks out of rust holes. Not only has the municipal water system been slow to branch out, it also leaks like cheesecloth. In the established neighborhoods that enjoy the relative reliability of a MCC hookup, 44 percent of the city’s water supply either seeps out through aging pipes or gets siphoned away by thieves. Summers bring shortages, even for those served by the city’s plumbing. Everywhere, the steep ascent of demand has caused a run on groundwater. Well owners drill deeper and deeper, chasing the water table downward as they all keep draining it further.
And on the other hand, we have these faulty/leaky water pipes that lose gallons of water-what a waste? Hope this report will awaken the concerned MCC officials to sprung into action, and fix the leaky joints of these faulty water pipes, so that not a single drop of precious water is lost.