BMC to apply corrosion-resistant coating on three main water supply pipelines

Mumbai's hydraulic department has begun the tendering process for a three-layer epoxy coating to protect water pipelines from corrosion and increase their lifespan. The coating will be applied to three main water pipes that supply the city. This comes as the city loses a significant amount of water due to pipeline bursts every day.

Mumbai: The city loses a significant amount of water owing to pipeline bursts every day. In an effort to find a solution to this problem and to increase the lifespan of water pipelines, the hydraulic department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun the tendering process of providing a three-layer anti-corrosion epoxy coating to the rusty pipes.

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Epoxy pipe coating is a method of coating the inside of pipes, tanks, and other vessels with a layer of epoxy resin. This coating helps to protect the interior surfaces of the pipes from corrosion and chemical damage, as well as improve the flow of fluids through the pipes.

The coating will be applied to three main water pipes, about 28 km long, that supply water to the city.

The Upper Vaitarna between Aghai to Pacchapur and Tansa to Pacchapur, Vaitarna main canals and new Tansa main canals between Tarali to Gundvali will be given three-layer coating.

About 3,900 million litres per day (MLD) of water is supplied to the Mumbai metropolis from seven reservoirs namely Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Hindu Hridaysamrat Shiv Sena Pramukh Balasaheb Thackeray Middle Vaitarna reservoir, Bhatsa, Vihar and Tulsi. Except for Vihar and Tulsi, the remaining five reservoirs fall outside the limits of Mumbai. From these reservoirs, water is supplied to Mumbai from about 600 km to 1,500 km.

Spread through forest, remote and rural areas and from Bhiwandi and Thane creeks towards Mumbai, the water channels get adversely affected by soil, silt, humid weather, garbage as well as water and other chemicals, making them prone to corrosion.

While these water channels are regularly inspected and repaired by the extra-urban division under the hydraulic engineering department of BMC, efforts are also made from time to time to increase their life span and safety. For instance, all these three channels were subjected to anti-corrosion improvements in 2016-2017.

Generally, once every five years, the water pipes are coated with the epoxy method in which the corrosion of the water line is completely removed and then coated with three layers of specific chemicals.