Two tanks within Kochi Corporation limits need urgent intervention, says KWA

A safety assessment by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) of all water storage tanks within the Kochi Corporation limits found that two tanks required “urgent intervention”.

While repairs have been completed on one, work on the other remains pending. The assessment was done in the wake of the recent incident at Thammanam, where a 1.35-crore-litre water tank burst, leading to water supply disruption and causing significant damage to nearby properties.

“One such tank that required intervention was the one at Kumbalanghi. After inspection we noticed a few minor leaks, and they were fixed. Now, chamber 2 of the tank at Thammanam needs intervention. We can take up repair work only after suspending pumping, which would affect water supply in the city,” sources said.

The KWA is awaiting commissioning of a new water tank at Kaloor, which has a capacity of 40 lakh litres. “This tank will provide backup water supply while we inspect the Thammanam tank. For this, an interconnection between the new tank and the existing pipeline is required. This will involve road cutting, for which we have already received approval,” said sources in the KWA.

At present, there are 14 water tanks within the Corporation limits, and they include overhead storage tanks as well as ground-level tanks. While initial findings indicate that the collapse of the tank at Thammanam was not the result of structural damage, the KWA is carrying out safety assessment as a precautionary measure in the aftermath of the accident. The tank, which was commissioned in 1985, partially collapsed after its foundation sank into the soil.