The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has begun preparing an advance plan to maintain uninterrupted drinking-water supply during the coming summer, with officials asked to map areas dependent on Singur and Manjeera sources and identify alternative arrangements for emergencies.
HMWS&SB managing director Ashok Reddy issued the directions at a review meeting at the board’s head office in Khairatabad. Joint managing director Mayank Mittal also attended the meeting, which reviewed the Singur-Manjeera contingency plan, restoration of power borewells, filling stations, network connectivity, industrial and bulk water supply, and the reuse of treated wastewater.
Officials have been instructed to prepare area-wise contingency plans specifying the alternative water source, supply route and quantity that can be provided if regular arrangements are disrupted. The exercise is intended to establish in advance how water can be moved between parts of the network during periods of stress.
Reddy also directed officials to assess the interconnections, junctions, valves and pipelines needed to support alternative supply routes. These components are to be kept ready ahead of summer rather than arranged only after shortages or network failures occur.
The board has been asked to identify neighbourhoods likely to face high summer demand, low pressure or difficulties because they are located at the tail end of the distribution network. Proposals are to be prepared for new pipelines and for strengthening existing parts of the network in areas where supply pressure may be a concern.
The review also covered measures to prevent water wastage during the summer. Officials were directed to develop systems to identify and control unnecessary wastage and the misuse of drinking water for non-domestic purposes. Reddy said awareness efforts should come before enforcement, while repeated violations should attract action under existing rules.
Filling stations and tanker operations formed another part of the preparedness exercise. The board has been instructed to assess the capacity of existing filling stations, tanker movement and daily demand, and to identify areas that may require additional filling points.
The directions place the focus on operational preparedness across the supply chain, from source dependence and emergency routing to local network capacity and tanker logistics. The board’s plan will need to translate these assessments into area-wise alternatives, identified infrastructure requirements and additional filling capacity before summer demand rises.
The review did not specify the number of areas to be covered, the quantity available from each alternative source, the locations of proposed new pipelines or the timeline for completing the preparations. The HMWS&SB’s next steps are to identify vulnerable locations, assess the required infrastructure and finalise contingency arrangements for the summer period.
