Only half of Kerala's water supply projects working

Kozhikode: The drinking water scenario in the state is rather alarming. Most of the drinking water projects have left the people high and dry because of lack of maintenance and shortage of water at the source, according to a study. They also lack a water treatment system or plant which is mandatory according to the Kerala Water Authority norms.

The study conducted by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics on the status of drinking water projects implemented in the state for the last few years states that 57 percent of the drinking water projects are not functioning, denying the people adequate water supply.

Out of the 12,109 water schemes in Kerala, only 3,212 projects have a water treatment system, while the rest 8,897 lack it. The data also reveals that over  50 percent of the drinking water projects are facing a shortage of sufficient water at source.

According to the officials of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the survey was prompted by the absence of reliable data on the number of water supply schemes commissioned and those not functional at present.

The survey shows that out of 32,568 drinking water schemes  implemented in the state, 44.5 percent have water distribution. Palakkad has the highest number of schemes, which is 16 percent  of the total number implemented in the state.

“During the field survey, it was observed that 27.7 percent  of the projects  have  24-hour water distribution, whereas for 47.3 percent, water distribution was  available for only a few hours in the day,” said an official with the economics and statistics department. The average daily use of water and monthly consumption of electricity are high in Ernakulam district and low in Alappuzha district compared to other places in the state.