Acute supply worry for Kolkata as DVC water makes Hooghly turbid
Times of India | 19 September 2024
Kolkata: The turbidity level in the Hooghly has risen to its near-danger mark and put the Palta water treatment plant on high alert due to release of storm water from DVC-run barrages in high volume. This century-old plant supplies potable water to the whole of north and central Kolkata. Residents of large parts of south Kolkata also depend on this treatment plant.
According to a KMC water supply department official, the problem, if persists, would lead to supply of less water to the city than its daily requirement.Fearing a health hazard, the KMC water supply department is taking multiple corrective measures to ensure that the drinking water supplied to the residents remains fit for drinking.
“If DVC continues to release high volumes of water, the plant at Palta might get adversely affected. We are taking guard against the deposition of mounds of sludge,” said a civic official.
The problem is acute at Garden Reach and Dhapa plants as well. While Garden Reach supplies potable water to large parts of south Kolkata, including the added areas such as Garden Reach, Behala, Tollygunge (parts) and Jadavpur, the Dhapa plant caters to the needs of residents staying along EM Bypass. Mounds of sludge present in the Hooghly are threatening normal operations at all these three water treatment plants.
At Palta waterworks, the Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) showed the turbidity level at 400 on Wednesday. “If the level crosses 500, it will be a challenge for us to keep the supply of water normal,” said a KMC water supply department official. NTU is used to measure the presence of suspended particles in water.
The plant engineers are apprehensive about the damage of machines that are used in the sedimentation tank zone. According to a KMC engineer, if any machine goes out of order, it would be difficult for the civic body to supply safe drinking water to vast parts of the city. However, the slow sand filtration bed at Palta plant has proved to be a saviour in this hour of crisis. “This bed is helping in absorbing the high volume of sludge,” a civic official said. Besides, the plant engineers are using an adequate volume of alum as a coagulant.