Hyderabad, July 06: Realising that pit taps are the root cause for water pollution in houses, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has launched a special drive to close such taps in Greater Hyderabad limits.
Following incidences of contamination of water supplied to homes through pipelines recently and also last year in different parts of the twin cities, the water board officials found that in many of these cases pit taps were the culprits as sewage was getting mixed with drinking water here.
The crisscrossing of water and sewer lines was also giving scope for contamination.
HMWS&SB managing director M Jagadeeswar told Expresso that the board had identified about 35,000 pit taps, mostly in the tail-end areas and slums where either water pressure was low or supply was inadequate.
“People prefer pit taps below the ground level, ie, one or two metres deep to overcome low pressure problem and receive more water, but this is dangerous as it leads to pollution of water,” he said.
At many places, water and sewer connections were found side by side giving ample scope for contamination. In order to create awareness among public, the board had decided to circulate printed material explaining disadvantages of the pit taps, Jagadeeswar said.
In the last few days, the special teams of the board had closed some 12,000 pit taps. The remaining would also be closed soon as the board was not going to show any leniency in this regard. “Clear instructions have been given to the officials to seal the pit taps,” Jagadeeswar said.
In all these areas, the board would take steps to increase water pressure and also supplies by laying additional pipelines, the managing director said.
–Agencies