The British-era Tansa (East) main waterway in the western suburb and south Mumbai will be repaired on December 2 and 3. However, this will affect the water supply in G South – Worli, Prabhadevi, Lower Parel and G North divisions – Dadar, Dharavi and Mahim areas, said BMC official.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had on November 27 announced that some parts of Prabhadevi, Lower Parel, Mahim and Dadar will not get water supply or low-pressure supply on December 2 and 3.
The most challenging aspect of repairing the leak is that it’s buried over 25 to 30 feet under the ground, with a British era stormwater drain, a sewage line, and TATA Power’s high voltage power line running right above it. As if this was not enough, the area is located right in the middle of a busy street in Lower Parel.
However, with the help of modern technology, the hydraulics team used ultrasound to locate the leak. Following the complaint of the leakage in this Tansa main pipeline was detected 10 days ago on November 18, the staff from BMC’s hydraulics department began excavation work around the area. After excavating up to 30 feet, the team spotted the leak on the underside of the pipeline. It was temporarily repaired by driving a wooden wedge and a patch screw jack under it, without shutting water supply through the pipeline to the surrounding areas.
According to reports, last week another side of the Tansa east pipeline had burst near the Mahim Creek, which disrupted water supply to the entire Bandra, Khar and Santacruz areas for a day. Civic officials had attributed the fluctuating water pressure to be a reason for the leakage. On Monday, November 30, engineers of the water supply department stated that the main leakage occurred on November 18 could fluctuate water pressure levels.
On November 18, it was discovered that a 1450 mm diameter Tansa (East) main aqueduct was leaking near Gawde Chowk on Senapati Bapat Marg in the southern division. At that time, the repair work was taken up by the Assistant Engineer Water Works (Emergency Repair Department-Worli).
The procedure of the pipeline work repair:
• Another pit would be dug near the site of the spill
• Shore plates will be installed on all sides of the pit to prevent soil from falling into the pit.
• Two 24-inch manholes were dug on the top of the pipeline, at the depth of 15 feet.
• It will be emptied by pumping water from the aqueduct
• Municipal employees will enter the waterway through the second manhole and carry out repair work.
• Entering the aqueduct will make it easier for staff to track the number of leaks. As a result, it will be possible for the municipality to repair the leaks which have not been noticed.
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