Residents of Konavaikalpalayam in Ward 99 on Saturday got drinking water that was contaminated The residents said the Corporation supplied water around 6.30 a.m., after a 15-day gap. They let the water into the sump, as was the practice. A little later the residents noted something amiss in that the water was turbid and carried a bad odour.
Soon the message spread among the residents who directed the water into the sewage. M. Rajeswari, a resident of Subburaya Mudali Street, said that she noticed the water quality only after being alerted by a neighbour.
The water she checked in the sump at her house carried poultry waste, pigeon feathers, hair and much more. The colour too was not good.
A. Sarala, a resident of Valluvar Street, said that the water quality was so bad that the residents would not be able to use it. Plus, the water supplied on Saturday had also contaminated whatever was left in the sump. To remedy the contamination, the Corporation officials sprinkled bleaching powder but it was of no use.
The residents were forced to flush out the water into the drain.
According to sources in the Corporation, the water supply managers supplied water in tankers to help the residents meet their needs. They also stopped Aliyar water supply and switched to supplying Siruvani water to the residents.
The sources said that they had supplied four lorry loads of water. Aside from that they were digging at various points along the water supply line to check where the contamination could have happened. The work was under way as of Saturday evening. Once they identified the point of contamination, they would replace the pipeline, flush out the contaminated water and restart supply afresh.
