For the second time in four days, water supply to several parts of the city was hit after a joint leak was detected on one of the water mains from Aruvikkara on Tuesday.

 The leak was detected on the 1,200-mm pre-stressed concrete pipe, the line infamous for its frequent bursts, near Karakulam, and pumping at Aruvikkara was stopped by around 2.30 pm, a senior KWA official said.

 “It is a joint leak only and there has been no pipe-burst, but we won’t know the extent of damage till we excavate the area,” said the official, when contacted on Tuesday evening.

 If possible, the repair work would begin on Tuesday night, else it would be deferred for Wednesday morning, the official said. Meanwhile, pumping of water from Aruvikkara was stopped throughout Tuesday night.

 The pipeline in question is the main distribution line carrying water from Aruvikkara reservoir, the city’s primary potable water source, to the overhead tank in Observatory Hill. The disruption in water supply would hit high-level areas of the city, including Vellayambalam, Sasthamangalam and surrounding regions, Statue and surrounding areas, Pattoor, Kumarapuram and Medical College, officials said.

 It was only three days ago, on Saturday, that a crack on a 500-mm high-density polyethylene pipeline near Kripa Theatre in the city had led the Power House Road to be flooded. The consequent repair works, which lasted almost the entire day, had caused water supply disruption to the southern low-lying areas of Manacaud, Kamaleshwaram, Poonthura, Valiathura, Beemapally and Kovalam. 

 It is to get respite from the frequent leaks and bursts along the 1,200-mm transmission line that a new mild-steel pipe is being laid to replace the present pre-stressed concrete one. So far, over 4 km of the proposed 9.7-km new pipe has been laid.