Kochiites have been getting murky water for the last few days with the authorities failing to carry out repair work and augment the filter beds in treatment plants.

Thousands of consumers are having a tough time getting quality potable water as the treatment plants of the KWA at Aluva which cater to the needs of Kochi are unable to desilt the water properly. "We store the water in a big vessel and wait for a day to allow the silt to settle. Only then do we use the water," said George, a resident of Kochi.

The total capacity of the four treatment plants at Aluva is 225 mlt against the demand for around 260 mlt every day. The plants, installed between 1965 and 2002, are in need of urgent repair. The high cost of filter beds, put at around Rs 74 lakh, is the reason for the delay in installing new ones. There is a proposal to include the installation of new filter beds in the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) as well.

"We submitted a proposal to the state government for new filter beds. The government has approved it and the tender will be invited soon," said a KWA official. The raising of the Kallarkutty dam sluice gate for desilting a couple of years ago has added to turbidity during the monsoon. Treating the turbid water damaged the filter beds. If the authorities had taken steps to repack the filter beds and maintain the levels of the device, this situation could have been avoided.

Given the high turbidity level, the volume of input will have to be reduced significantly if the water is to be properly treated. But a reduction in volume will effect a decrease in supply. To avoid water scarcity the authorities decided not to bring down the input volume, also making it clear that the retreat of the monsoon would solve the problem for the time being.