Treated water from the Muttathara sewage treatment plant will be made available to the public free-of-cost for construction and other purposes. The State government took the decision considering the unprecedented drought situation. This and other steps to tackle the drought were announced following a meeting between Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas and Mayor V.K. Prasanth here on Wednesday.
“The situation is not yet alarming, and we can survive with the available water till the monsoon, if the public cooperate with us in water conservation measures. On a daily basis, 45 mld treated water is drained to the Parvathy Puthanar. This water can be made available to the public for free, for construction and other purposes,” said the Minister.
Sump to be built
A sump will be constructed soon at the treatment plant to collect the treated water. Public can even now collect water from the outlet to the Parvathy Puthanar. The Mayor said that the Corporation would convene a meeting of representatives of all residents’ associations to take the message of water conservation to the public. The usage of drinking water for construction purposes has to be avoided.
“There need to be strict controls on the quantity of drinking water used daily. Wastage of water should not happen under these circumstances. There have been instances of water from public taps being misused, even for washing vehicles. If such instances are noticed, we will take preventive action, including cutting of supply to the public taps where these happen,” said the Mayor. Water tankers will henceforth make use of the sources at Vandithadam and Choozhattukotta, which have 10 mld and 8 mld capacity respectively. This is not being tapped effectively now.
Blue brigade
The Minister said that instructions had been given to solve any such complaints within 24 hours.
The Minister dismissed the rumours of restaurants in the city downing their shutters due to water scarcity. He said that no controls had been imposed on water supply to restaurants.
