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NOTE: SNIP FROM ARTICLE..."According to WASA, water pumps could not be operated due to massive power disruption or load shedding, low voltage and other power related causes. "It's risky to run the water pumps with the power supply below 370 volts," says one official."

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New pump station installed - City dwellers unlikely to face water crisis

March 15, 2000-- City dwellers will not face water crisis this dry season as 27 crore litre water was added this year to the production capacity of Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), officials said.

Installing generator sets at the pump stations, they say, the major problem of water production has been minimised to mitigate any crisis that may crop up in this city of 10 million people.

"There will be no water crisis this dry season...There may be some problems because it's totally an unplanned city," WASA managing director Khandakar Azharul Haq told UNB on Tuesday.

WASA's production capacity of water rose by 29 percent this year to 120 crore litre from 93 crore litres in 1999.

A new pump station with production capacity of 3,000 litre per minute went into operation at Vikarunnessa Noon School premises on Tuesday. In exchange, the school will consume water free of cost.

The latest production capacity shows a deficit of 25 crore litre or 17 percent against present demand of 145 crore litre per day. In 1996, the deficit was 50 crore litre or 38 percent when the production was 80 crore litre against the demand of 130 crore litre per day.

According to WASA, water pumps could not be operated due to massive power disruption or load shedding, low voltage and other power related causes. "It's risky to run the water pumps with the power supply below 370 volts," says one official.

The authority has so far procured 204 new standby generator sets to maintain smooth operation of the water pumps. Some 170 sets, including 20 old ones, are in operation now and the rest will be installed soon.

In addition, WASA has now 22 water tankers, including 15 new procured in last two years, to meet emergency requirement.

"The preparation we have taken in addition to the development is adequate to tackle any water shortage this year," said the WASA managing director.

He said the "untoward incident" last year was due to a massive power disruption in the Siddirganj Power Station when 32 water pumps that cover Motijheel, Jatrabari and Narinda areas remained stopped for 36 hours.

Some 30 people are deprived of water for a day if one pump remains off for one minute.

There are still problems with Chandnighat Water Treatment Plant and Godnail Plant as the stations were forced to remain off for 10-20 hours a day due to low voltage.

Consumers of the areas covered by the stations are facing some problems of water supply. WASA hopes to solve these problems by next month after installing three generators at the stations that have already reached Chittagong port.

Azharul Haque said system loss is not a cause for water crisis because the consumers are getting a portion of water, which remained unaccounted for. "This is why, the system loss is renamed worldwide as Unaccounted For Water (UFW)."

In Dhaka, the system loss now is 41 percent. The real loss (technical loss) is 22 percent and the consmers use the rest 19 percent, but the authority does not get the tariff, the WASA chief executive said.

The world's lowest system loss is 6 percent in Singapore and the highest 76 percent in Ulan Bator.

He also pointed out some problems over unplanned constructions in the city and said it is difficult to install pipelines in some areas like Badda.

Officials said WASA plans to make 50 pump grids covering all areas of the city with 5-6 pumps in one grid to avoid sudden disorder of the pumps. One pump will remain standby in each grid and at least four pumps will have generator connection.

One such grid has been set up at Banani and others are to be installed by next year.

http://www.nation-online.com/200003/15/n0031505.htm

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 14, 2000