Hyderabad Water Board to take up Gandipet Conduit repair works

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is set to resolve the persistent leakage issue affecting the historic Gandipet Conduit. The Board has initiated repair work using a chemical treatment method to ensure the city's water supply remains uninterrupted. In that regard, HMWSSB, Managing Director Ashok Reddy, inspected the ongoing works on Friday.

According to the officials, for the last ten years, Gandipet Conduit has had severe leakages in Gandipet, Kokapet, Manikonda, CBIT College, Puppala Guda, Janaki Nagar, Kausar Colony, and MES Campus. However, if repairs are undertaken to stop these leakages, the water supply will be interrupted for a month. Due to this, these works are being postponed. Without disrupting the supply of water, HMWSSB has been exploring the various new methods, and finally, a company related to Chennai came forward to stop the leakages without disrupting the supply with the use of German technology. Within 40 days, repairs were experimentally conducted by grouting a ten-meter section of the conduit at the Asif Nagar filter bed, which has now been completed. Similar work in other areas will begin soon.

If the water is shut down, there is a possibility of problems for the users. So, keeping them in mind, the authorities are carrying out repairs using the chemical treatment method. In the area where the leakage has occurred, first, the water is emptied with special equipment, and a special chemical is sent into the area. Within moments, the chemical turns into a solid and settles in the voids. This will stop the leakage, and repair works can be carried out without stopping the water supply through this method. The city has a total capacity of 26 MGD of drinking water from Gandipet. If 20 MGD is supplied at present, about 6 MGD of water is wasted due to these leakages. Ultimately, only 12 MGDs are being supplied to customers. This leakage problem has been found in 45 areas covering a distance of about 14.5 km. Once the repair work is completed, another 14 MGD of water can be supplied to consumers, said a senior officer, HMWSSB.