Leaky pipes take a toll on residents’ health

Sewage water found contaminating drinking water at Anna Nagar

Construction of an open drainage under way on Bharathidasan Salai in Anna Nagar in Tiruchi on Sunday.

The recent detection of sewage water mixing with drinking water from an underground pipe at Anna Nagar underlines the need for revamp and inspection of water mains and pipes in the city.

The problem came to light when some residents in Anna Nagar fell sick about three weeks ago with complaints of fever, nausea and stomach discomfort. Suspecting that consumption of contaminated water could have led to their sickness, they submitted a petition to Corporation officials.

After checking the drinking water supplied to residents, the officials too suspected a mix of sewage with drinking water. They finally zeroed in on the leakage on a joint of an old cement drinking water pipe on Rajarajan Street. Sewage from a drain had mixed with the drinking water through the faulty joint, which was replaced.

However, it took them almost 25 days to find the leakage as they had to dig up the ground at various spots along the supply line. Since the road was recently laid, they had to do it carefully to avoid damaging it.

“It was tough work. However, we managed to pinpoint the exact location. Now, there is no issue of water contamination in the area. They get clean water,” a senior official said.

He added that the water mains and distribution lines of Anna Nagar area had been fully checked and there would be no issues in the near future.

But this is not an isolated incident. There have been incidents of residents bringing muddy and discoloured water to Tiruchi Corporation office to lodge complaints in the recent past.

S. Pushpavanam, secretary, Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, said pipe bursts frequently occurred in Tiruchi. It was mainly because of defective plan and execution of drinking water and drainage projects implemented about 50 years ago. It was time that the systems were overhauled.