Pipeline ruptured: City to face shortfall of 150mgd water

A 72-inch diameter pipeline of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) ruptured on Tuesday following a power breakdown at the Dhabeji pumping station.

 As per the statement issued by the KWSB, owing to the rupture the city will face a shortfall of 150 million gallons of water over the next 48 hours. According to KWSB officials, a power failure at the Dhabeji pumping station - main water supply source to the city - caused a build-up of back pressure in the pipeline which burst after it was unable to sustain the increased pressure. Two kilometres of land was submerged in water after the pipeline burst, said a KWSB spokesperson.

Heavy equipment to repair the damaged line was promptly transported to the pumping station on instructions of the KWSB’s Managing Director Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi. The repair work can take up to 48 hours, the spokesperson added. “Till the pipeline is repaired we are using alternate pipelines to supply water to the city,” he claimed. In August last year, water supply to several parts of the city was suspended after a 72-inch pipeline from Thatta burst and could not be repaired immediately.

A month prior to that the station faced a power breakdown as many parts of the city were left without water for more than 25 hours and around 200 million gallons of water was lost.