The Kerala Water Authority has called a tender to replace the ageing raw-water pump at its 21.90 million litres per day water treatment plant in Vellayani, a project expected to improve supply reliability in Kovalam, Vizhinjam, Kalliyoor and Venganoor in southern Thiruvananthapuram.
The project involves installing a new 120-horsepower vertical turbine pump at the plant’s raw-water pump house. According to a KWA official, the existing pump has become old and outdated, limiting the facility’s ability to consistently operate at its designed capacity.
“The plant has a designed capacity of 21.90 MLD, but the existing pumping system makes it difficult to consistently achieve that capacity. Replacing the pump will improve the efficiency of raw-water pumping and help the treatment plant achieve its full potential,” the official said, according to the Times of India report.
The Vellayani treatment plant supplies water to the southern areas covering Kovalam, Vizhinjam, Kalliyoor and Venganoor. KWA’s decision comes as the Kovalam-Vizhinjam belt experiences increased tourist inflow and economic activity, which has raised demand for water in the region.
The improvement is expected to be particularly relevant during summer, when water demand rises and parts of the southern belt face supply pressure. By enabling the existing treatment plant to operate closer to its full capacity, KWA expects to improve both the quantity and reliability of water reaching households and other consumers in the four service areas.
“The new pump will help us make full use of the capacity that is already available. This will improve the quantity and reliability of water supplied to the areas,” the official said.
The project is an upgrade to existing water infrastructure rather than the construction of a new treatment facility. The replacement pump will draw raw water from Vellayani Lake and send it to the treatment plant for purification. The technical specifications include a discharge capacity of 280 litres per second and a total head of 23 metres.
The tendered work includes the installation of the pump and motor, along with electrical systems, valves and other equipment required to operate the system. The project’s stated objective is to address the raw-water pumping constraint that has prevented the treatment plant from consistently delivering its designed 21.90 MLD capacity.
KWA has not provided in the supplied report a completion date for the replacement work. The next milestone is the tender and implementation process for installing and commissioning the new pumping system.
