The scourge of water theft is likely to add to the woes of the district which is bracing for a drought-like situation. More cases of illegal tapping of water, non-working metres and commercial use of domestic connections have been reported from the Ernakulam Central Region .
The water theft squad at the Non-Revenue Water Management cell registered 413 cases of theft last year. Notices were served on persons concerned to pay fines amounting to ₹70 lakh. This year, thefts of ₹5 lakh have been registered so far in the Central region.
The Kerala Water Authority had unearthed a large number of hose connections that had been brought to the notice of the cell by the public. Help to curb theft had also been sought from ward and division councillors. However, it was noted that the number of theft cases only went up with the drying up of wells and ponds.
Theft and leakage constitute about 40% of KWA’s revenue loss. The KWA had also found a couple of cases in which illegal hose connections were used to fill wells in houses.
A KWA official told The Hindu that production centres had enough water to supply. “People should use it judiciously,” he added.
The cell gets at least 25 calls a day reporting theft. The anti-theft squad also considers reports provided by meter readers.
Porous distribution
KWA officials admit that there have been no efforts to improve the water distribution system.
During the Kochi Metro works, a network of water distribution pipelines with no blueprint had been identified. Even then there was no effort to make blueprints at sub-division levels.
A new connection is provided only after making proper drawings of it. But it is never added to the available blueprint. Recently, KWA officials had a tough time finding out the leak in a new pipeline near Vyttila.
The government had taken a decision to replace some of the old and large distribution pipelines in the city and suburbs, covering only 20-25% of the total network. However, when other pipes burst, the KWA finds it difficult to locate them.
