Malaprabha turbidity spike disrupts water supply; boil-water advisory issued

Hubballi: Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) commissioner Rudresh Gali said that the sudden rise in turbidity level forced a one-day halt in water supply, which resumed Wednesday in parts of Hubballi-Dharwad.

A sharp increase in turbidity in the Malaprabha River put the water treatment plant (WTP) in Amminbhavi on high alert, raising concerns over drinking water safety.

Heavy rain in the catchment area sent silt-laden water into the Malaprabha River at the jackwell Tuesday, sharply increasing turbidity. HDMC officials, including the mayor and deputy mayor, visited the plant.

Deputy mayor Santosh Chavan told TOI that, for the first time, the water’s turbidity level has increased significantly following heavy rainfall in the Malaprabha catchment area. “We noticed that the presence of silt (red-coloured soil) and other dust particles was very high in the water, and we immediately stopped the supply of water to Hubballi-Dharwad from Tuesday morning. We also visited the WTP, where we found a heavy gush of silt-laden water that left the WTP staff worried and halted the water supply.

“We are now taking immediate measures to build a retaining wall around the jack well to prevent the flow of the silt and other particles from the surrounding areas, and also decided to insert some mesh inside the water pipelines, raise the compound wall and appoint security guards to ensure that no one can pollute or contaminate water by discharging polluted water near the WTP,” he said.

Rudresh said staff were working to purify the water. “Our staff at the WTP is working hard to purify the water by using chemicals required to clean water turbidity. The high water turbidity was the result of heavy rains in the catchment areas. Usually, there is low turbidity in summer, and a bit more in the flowing water during the rains, but we noticed high water turbidity on Tuesday. Many cleaning staff were involved in cleaning the entire WTP, and our experts began purifying the water by mixing sufficient chemicals to produce clean water.

“He also appealed to people to drink boiled and cooled water for two to three days till the situation comes under control.

Civic activist Dr MC Sindhur said heavy turbidity could lead to gastroenteritis and other waterborne diseases and urged authorities to take extreme precautions. He also said HDMC should publish its water testing report in the public domain.