Fast depleting water sources threaten to disrupt operations of tanker lorries, on which large sections of people in the city are reliant, as water consumption rises in proportion to the soaring mercury.
The Ernakulam District Drinking Water Transporters Welfare Association (EDDWTWA), which alone operates around 500 tanker lorries predominantly in the city on a day, confirms that water shortage is being increasingly felt even as the demand has shot up exponentially this year.
“Shortage of water delays the services. Many flats have wells and their demand for water supply in tankers in the previous years was limited. Many of these wells have dried up and demand from the apartments has more than doubled,” said Ali P.A., district joint secretary, EDDWTWA.
Water is being collected from sources, mostly wells, in Aluva, Kalamassery, Kakkanad, Thripunithura, and Kolancherry. These sources are certified by the Food Safety department based on testing of water samples. Tanker operators are required to renew certification every month and keep the certificate in the lorries. Besides, there are Kerala Water Authority sources in Aluva, Maradu, and Pallimukku.
“Filtering units have been set up at the collection sources. Water is filtered and chlorinated before being pumped into the tanker. If the test results show dip in quality, water will not be collected from those sources till remedial measures are taken and the quality is restored,” said Mr. Ali.
Tankers of varying capacity ranging from 2,000 litres to 36,000 litres operate on an average five trips a day. While big tankers are operated for supply in malls, hospitals, and apartments, relatively smaller tankers are deployed for houses, hostels, and small flat complexes. The rate of supply vary depending on the volume and distance to be covered. For instance, a 2,000-litre tanker may charge ₹500 to ₹600 if the service point is within a radius of two or three kilometre of the collection point, whereas it increases to ₹900 to ₹1,000 if the distance to be covered is 10 to 15 kilometres.
V.S. Somanathan, president, All Kerala Flat Owners Apex Association, said that many apartments have resorted to digging bore wells. “However, this only meets demands except for drinking. For drinking water, tankers are being relied more. Many apartments have set up filtering units to filter the water supplied by tankers before using it,” he added.
