THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has embarked on a mission to replace the old pipes in the city to get rid of the frequent pipe leaks and pipe bursts. Even though fund shortage is preventing the KWA authorities from changing the entire old pipes, it has been decided to replace the pipes at least in the most vulnerable areas, where leaks are being reported frequently.
Most of the old pipes are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes, which are outdated, and were laid 20 years ago. Main pipelines (pipes having 500mm size or above) cover an area of around 800km in the city areas, of which 204k-m stretch is having old pipes. Now, the KWA mulls replacing the old pipes in a phased manner to make it 100% leak free.
