Hyderabad loses 35pc of drinking water 'pipeline leaks,illegal tapping'

Even as Greater Hyderabad grapples with drying water reserves and surging demand, a portion of the city’s treated drinking water is vanishing before it even reaches households’ taps.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board supplies about 580 million gallons of drinking water daily (MGD) into Greater Hyderabad. Of this, the water board officials concede, nearly 35pc of the city’s pumped water is lost daily because of ageing pipelines, burst valves and illegal tapping across the 14,000-km supply



network.

One in every 3 litres of water treated and pumped in Hyderabad fails to reach consumers because of leaks in the supply grid, despite high financial and energy costs. Millions of gallons seep beneath city roads while families in tail-end colonies await meagre supplies and free emergency tankers amid the water crisis.

High-pressure trunk mains carrying Godavari, Krishna, Singur and Manjeera water lose large volumes through failing joints and leaking air valves before reaching city limits.