General Hyderabad

Hyderabad Water Board 2024 Roundup: Key Milestones and Achievements

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Hyderabad Water Board Roundup 2024

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) provides water and sewerage services to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Serving a population of over 13 million is a challenging task, but the Water Board is efficiently managing this responsibility. Each year, it expands its coverage and services, and currently, its reach extends up to the Outer Ring Road. The board supplies drinking water to gated communities, gram panchayats, and other local bodies along the Outer Ring Road.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the milestones the Water Board has achieved this year.

New leadership for the Board

This year, the Water Board (Jalamandali) welcomed a new Managing Director (MD) and Executive Director (ED). Among them, MD Ashok Reddy brings prior experience, having previously served as an ED at the Water Board. The newly appointed ED, Mayank Mittal, previously worked as the Additional Collector of Narayanpet district.

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Phase-2 works of the Godavari Project

The state government has approved Phase-2 of the Godavari Drinking Water Supply Project. This initiative aims to provide additional water to meet the city’s growing drinking water needs while also rejuvenating the Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar reservoirs. Currently, 560 MGD (million gallons per day) of water is being supplied. However, by 2030, Hyderabad’s drinking water demand is expected to rise to 867 MGD, and by 2050, it is projected to reach 1,114 MGD.

Under Phase 1 of the Godavari Drinking Water Supply Scheme, the Water Board is already transferring 10 TMC of water from the Yellampalli Project. In Phase 2, an additional 15 TMC of water will be sourced from the Mallanna Sagar Reservoir, of which 5 TMC will be allocated for the rejuvenation of the twin reservoirs as part of the Musi River cleanup.

The project involves the construction of pump houses, substations, water treatment plants, and large pipelines, with the goal of completing it within two years. Currently, Phase 1 of the Godavari Drinking Water Supply Scheme is supplying 163 MGD of water.

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Construction of STPs – Goal of 100% Sewage Treatment

The Water Board is making significant progress toward achieving 100% treatment of sewage generated in Hyderabad. To achieve this goal, several Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are being constructed at various locations.

Currently, the Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration generates 1,950 MLD of sewage, with 1,650 MLD originating from the GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) region. Of this, 772 MLD (46%) is already being treated through 25 STPs, which is a higher percentage compared to other cities in India. To treat the remaining 878 MLD of sewage, the government has launched a project to build new STPs with a combined capacity of 1,106 MLD, at a cost of ₹3,866.41 crore. These new STPs will meet future sewage treatment needs until 2036.

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As part of this initiative, 11 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have already been commissioned and are operational, treating sewage at the following capacities

Kokapet: 15 MLD
Durgam Cheruvu: 7 MLD
Nallacheruvu: 86.50 MLD
Pedda Cheruvu: 17.50 MLD
Miyapur Patel Cheruvu: 7 MLD
Khaja Kunta: 20 MLD
Fatehnagar-1: 133 MLD
Nagole: 320 MLD
Safilguda: 5.5 MLD

Additionally, nine more STPs with a combined capacity of 443 MLD are in the final stages of construction and will soon be operational.

Furthermore, under the AMRUT 2.0 (third phase) program, proposals have been made to construct 39 additional STPs. Four more STPs are also planned to prevent sewage from entering the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs.

90-Day Special Action Plan

The Water Board has launched a 90-day special action plan with the goal of making Hyderabad a “Sewerage Overflow-free City” and promoting the construction of rainwater harvesting pits. This initiative focuses on two main objectives:

  • Providing permanent solutions to the longstanding sewage issues in Hyderabad.
  • Preventing future water scarcity by encouraging the construction of rainwater harvesting pits.

This ambitious program was inaugurated by the Honorable Chief Minister, Mr. A. Revanth Reddy, on Gandhi Jayanti. As part of the initiative, the Water Board removed accumulated silt from sewage pipelines and manholes, reducing daily complaints by 30%.

Under the 90-day action plan, the Board successfully completed de-silting at 16,395 locations, covering 2,106 kilometers of pipelines and 1,68,000 manholes by December 28, 2024. To further ensure the smooth flow of sewage, the Water Board is raising awareness about the construction of silt chambers. It has advised communities and colonies to build these chambers to prevent waste from entering manholes.

Division-wise Reduction in Complaints

The details of complaint reductions across divisions highlight the effectiveness of this initiative.

One-Time Settlement Scheme

To recover long-pending water bill dues, the Water Board introduced the One-Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme 2024. The scheme was available for two months, during which 1.17 lakh consumers paid off bills totaling ₹102 crore and received a rebate of ₹35 crore.

Repairs to the 100-Year-Old Gandipet Conduit

The Water Board has resolved the decade-long leakage problem in the historic Gandipet conduit, which supplies water to various areas in Hyderabad. For the past 10 years, this conduit had suffered significant leaks in areas such as Gandipet, Kokapet, Manikonda, CBIT College, Puppalaguda, Janaki Nagar, Kausar Colony, and MES Campus.

Repairing these leakages traditionally would have caused a month-long disruption in the water supply. However, to prevent interruptions, officials collaborated with a Chennai-based company that employed German technology. Using a chemical treatment method, they successfully completed the repair work without affecting the water supply.

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Water Supply during Summer

This summer, groundwater levels in the city dropped significantly, leading to a sharp increase in demand for drinking water. As a result, the Water Board faced immense pressure to supply water to the public. Although there were minor challenges at the beginning of the summer, the board quickly adapted and continued to provide water services to the community.

To ensure the public had uninterrupted access to drinking water, emergency pumping was initiated at key resources such as the Nagarjuna Sagar and Yellampalli projects. The board also increased the number of tankers, drivers, filling stations, and supply points, guaranteeing a steady daily water supply. With over 733 tankers and 78 filling stations within the Water Board’s jurisdiction, a total of 16,43,660 tanker trips have been made from January 1, 2024 to December 28,2024.

Given that groundwater levels were identified as the primary cause of the issue, constructing rainwater harvesting pits has been recognized as the appropriate solution to replenish these levels. The Water Board conducted a survey and raised public awareness about the importance of building these pits. They also provided technical assistance to help residents construct the pits on their properties. Notices were issued to those who did not have rainwater harvesting pits.

It was found that 40,000 CAN number (Consumer Account Number) consumers regularly booked tankers during the summer due to borewells drying up. These consumers were identified as lacking rainwater harvesting pits. They were advised to install the pits, and notices were issued to those who failed to comply. Consumers with properties larger than 300 square meters who do not have rainwater harvesting pits will now face double fees for tanker bookings.

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Additional Water Supply to the Cantonment Board

In addition to the regular water supply to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board, an additional 1 MGD has been added. Currently, 5.9 MGD is being supplied to 40,000 connections, but this amount was found to be insufficient, as highlighted to the Chief Minister by MLA Sriganesh. Following the CM’s instructions, MD Ashok Reddy met with the MLA, discussed the issue, and a decision was made to increase the water supply.

Tamil Nadu Officials Visit

Officials from the Chennai Water Board in Tamil Nadu visited the Hyderabad Water Board office. The team, led by Managing Director Dr. TG Vinay, included Superintending Engineer Shiva Kumar, Area Engineer Vijay Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer Madhavi, Assistant Engineer Shiva Shankari, and other representatives. They studied the services provided by the Water Board to the citizens of Hyderabad, including drinking water supply, wastewater management practices, technological advancements, implemented reforms, and revenue management.

Trainee IAS Officers’ Visit

A team of trainee IAS officers of Telangana cadre visited the Water Board as part of a one-day orientation training program. During the visit, they learned about the board’s operations, the city’s water supply, sewage treatment plants (STPs), sewage management, as well as future plans and ongoing projects.

Compassionate Appointments

This year a total of 25 candidates were appointed on compassionate grounds at the Water Board. Employment was provided to the family members of deceased employees during their service period. The appointments were distributed as follows: 3 in January, 3 in June, 3 in July, 7 in September, 5 in November, and 4 in December, bringing the total to 25 appointments.