Berhampur, Feb. 28: Residents of the city are reeling from severe water crisis owing to disruption in supply for the past three days.
The water pipelines have reportedly been damaged at Jagatvili near the Kali temple as well as in Sara village, leading to the problem.
"We have been facing this problem frequently," said Barnali Baisakhi, a resident of VIP Colony in Kamapalli.
The executive engineer of the public health engineering department, Sitaram Panda, said: "The 14km pipeline that connects the reservoir at Kaliabali that was constructed way back in 1982, is damaged at two places. We are repairing the pipeline. Water supply should resume by Monday morning."
The pipeline got damaged after a sudden power breakdown on February 25.
"The existing pipeline is developing frequent problems due to wear and tear. Pipelines generally burst due to the "water hammer" effect. Water hammer effect commonly occurs when a valve closes suddenly at an end of a pipeline system, and a pressure wave propagates in the pipe. Heavy pressure develops in the pipeline whenever there is sudden power failure since we use 350 horsepower high-speed motor in a 3.300volt high-tension line.
If the power trips for even a second, the motor stops automatically and it can run only after one-and-half-hour when the water level stands still," said Panda.
At present, the daily drinking water need of the city is more than 50 MLD, as against the supply of 35 MLD. Even this supply amount gets reduced drastically during the summer months.Berhampur get its drinking water supply from the Dakhinapur reservoir and Rushikulya water supply scheme.A standby pipeline is progressing at snail's pace. The World Bank sanctioned Rs 25.19 crore under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project, which is being executed by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation."Till date, only 5km of the pipeline is laid. The sooner the standby pipeline project is completed, Berhampur residents will be spared from water shortage," Panda said.
Additional reporting by Manoj Kar in Kendrapara
