PMC to set up alternative power supply system at Parvati WTP

To avoid water supply disruption due to power failure, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will set up an alternative power supply system at the Parvati water purification centre which supplies water to more than 10 lakh people in the Katraj and Kothrud areas of Pune city.

While the PMC has already set up an express feeder line to all water treatment plants (WTPs) due to frequent power cuts, Parvati – one of the important WTPs in the city which supplies drinking water to more than 10 lakh residents of Katraj and Kothrud – is facing repeated power cuts due to bird hits. Of the total 10 WTPs in the city that together treat 1,459 MLD (million litres per day) of water, the Parvati WTP treats nearly 455 MLD. It supplies water to the old town, Satara Road, Sahakar Nagar, Swargate, Taljai, Indira Nagar, SNDT and Chaturshrungi. As mentioned in the city development plan (DP) 2041, Parvati Waterworks was commissioned in 1969 and is 54 years’ old so there is a need for replacement and augmentation of the waterworks.

Ramdas Taru, superintendent engineer of the PMC water supply department, said, “In the Parvati WTP, we were facing power failure problems as birds were frequently hitting the overhead electrical wires. In the recent past, we cleared that problem. However, we are still facing problems with the transformer. The cable faults break down the transformer and it affects the power supply of the Parvati WTP. We cannot afford power failure in water supply services. Therefore, we have decided to place a transformer protection feeder pillar to stop transformer breakdown incidents.”

Sandeep Sapakle, junior engineer of the Parvati WTP, said, “It is an alternative system which will help avoid power failure at the Parvati WTP. Right now, there is no such arrangement existing. The new system will help avoid power failure problems and help provide continuous and regular water supply to the Katraj and Kothrud areas. We have floated a tender of ₹21 lakhs. After approval of the tender, it will take six months to complete the new system work.”