Plug leakages to give city more water

Looking for ways to augment water supply to the city, the municipal corporation is giving top priority to the project meant to tackle a perennial problem with its 290-km distribution network: Leakages.

Looking for ways to augment water supply to the city, the municipal corporation is giving top priority to the project meant to tackle a perennial problem with its 290-km distribution network: Leakages.

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Civic officials say the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is pushing for the replacement of major pipelines and tunnels in a bid to save 345 million litres of water daily (MLD) wasted due to leakages.

The city currently gets 3,450 MLD of water of which 22 to 27 per cent or about 700 MLD is lost in leakages and pilferage.

By plugging the leakages, the BMC aims to save half of the wasted water.

Mumbai gets water from six lakes — Modak Sagar, Tansa, Tulsi, Upper Vaitarna, Bhatsa and Vihar — through major tunnels and pipelines. However, as the distribution and supply system is now 100 years old, repairs are urgently required.

The BMC had set aside Rs 253 crore in its 2007 budget, Rs 100 crore in its 2008 budget and Rs 100 crore in its 2009 budget to replace the pipelines.

The BMC has undertaken most of the works, and the project is expected to be complete by 2012.

A 12-km tunnel from Maroshi to Ruparel College in Matunga (West) is one of the works undertaken. Boring to lay a 6-km tunnel from Maroshi to Vakola has been completed.

A 4.8 km tunnel from Vakola to Mahim and 1.9 km from Mahim to Ruparel college will be completed in two years. The tunnel from Ruparel college to Malabar Hill has already been replaced.

“We have undertaken major pipeline and tunnel replacement projects that will give us additional 10 per cent of water as the water lost in leakages will be saved. The pipeline from Kharota on the Eastern Express Highway will be completed in April and the city will get 100 mld more water next year,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner, Anil Diggikar.

After the completion of Middle Varitarna in 2012, the BMC aims to start its Gargai-Pinjal project that is expected to supply 1,300 mld more water to the city by 2021.

“We will not let the financial crunch affect our major projects like the Middle Vaitarna and Gargai-Pinjal,” said Municipal Commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya at Friday’s standing committee meeting.