Drinking water is safe, says HMWS&SB

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 16. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) said it is supplying safe drinking water and that its quality is satisfactory.

In a statement the Metro Water Board denied reports published in a section of the press that it is supplying contaminated water. The Metro Water Board is taking various steps to ensure the supply of safe drinking water. It is also taking preventive measures to control the incidence of gastroenteritis.

The Metro Water Board citing the details of various steps taken to ensure the supply of safe drinking water said that it draws water from Osmansagar, Himayatsagar, Manjira barrage and Singur dam through closed conduits upto the water treatment plants. The raw water of the sources are tested and the results have shown that the quality is safe and fit for drinking after necessary treatment.

The raw water is treated at the treatment plants located at Asifnagar, Miralam, Rajampet, Peddapur and Kalabgur (near Sangareddy). The water is treated as per conventional water treatment process--rapid gravity sand filters. The treatment process consists of primary settling of impurities in raw water in primary settling tanks where the suspended particles settle down; the supernatant from primary settling tanks is drawn into secondary settling tanks called clariflocculators where coagulant, Ferric Alumina Sulphate is added. The flocs are formed which helps the suspended particles to settle down and the sludge deposited at the bottom is removed.

The clarified water from secondary settling tanks is drawn into filter beds where the water is filtered through the media consisting of fine sand, coarse sand, gravel, pebbles and quartz. Here the impurities like harmful pathogens are removed and the water is drawn into the reservoir.

In the next step pre-chlorination is adopted for reduction of bacterial load and algae on the water. The post-chlorination is also done after the filtration process for disinfection and water is thus free of all contaminants and fit for drinking.

The treated water is transmitted through pipelines upto service reservoirs from where it is distributed to the consumers through the network of water supply distribution pipelines. The Metro Water Board has installed 49 chlorination plants and 35 such plants are located in the twin cities and the adjoining areas. The functioning of the plants is being checked by the field staff and the residual chlorine present in the service reservoirs is checked and recorded on an hourly basis.

The Board has also set up a central chlorination team under the control of the Deputy General Manager for regular supervision and timely rectification of the problems. The Quality Assurance and Testing (QAT) wing of HMWS&SB under the control of Deputy General manager regularly monitors the water quality by getting the water samples. The Board is using chlorine at various stages of water supply system.

As the water distribution is about 2,500 km and in order to maintain the minimum residual chlorine of 0.2 mg per litre at the farthest end stage-wise application of chlorine is being done by installation of chlorine plants. The water samples tested has indicated that in about 98 per cent samples the residual chlorine was present and hence the water being supplied is safe.

The incidence of gastroenteritis in areas under Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad is less, when compared with the data of previous years. The causes of such incidence may also be due to other reasons like consuming stale food, poor personal hygiene and insanitary conditions, besides drinking safe water. The consumers have to take precautions to keep sumps and overhead tanks clean and also store the water in clean vessels. A study by the Board indicates that occurrence of gastroenteritis is more due to poor personal hygiene and insanitary conditions prevailing in the premises.

The other safety measures taken include re-sampling in areas where the residual chlorine is absent, increasing dose of chlorine to see water quality is wholesome; daily checking of the functioning of chlorinators; keeping stock of bleaching powder/hypochlorite solution for use in the event of the failure of chlorinator; replacement of old pipelines and since April around 34 km length has been replaced; borewells supplying contaminated water are identified and marked red to prevent people from drinking its water. Of the 2,908 hotels, 831 were found supplying unsafe water and the MCH was taking necessary action against them and the pipe leakages and drainage overflows were being rectified on priority.

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