Status of Functioning of Completed Water Supply Schemes as on 31-03-2005
Introduction
To ascertain the status of drinking water supply in the completed schemes under PHED, Meghalaya, an exercise was carried out by all the field divisions during February 2005, and the information was put on the Government of Meghalaya website as "Completed Water Supply Schemes under PHED as on 31.1.05". That information has now been updated up to 31.3.05.
The Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) prepared the functioning report of all the completed schemes under their jurisdiction, based on information provided by their field staff. The reports were to be verified by the respective Executive Engineers and Superintending Engineers.
Definitions
The following definitions were used to indicate the status of a scheme:
- Fully functional schemes
- Water supply is available through public stand posts regularly, except during normal maintenance.
- Partially functional schemes
- Water supply is not available in most of the stand posts, or one or more villages/habitations under the scheme are not getting regular water supply.
- Non-functional schemes
- Water supply is not available in the scheme.
| Code | Reason |
|---|---|
| PF1 | One or more villages/habitations without water supply, in a combined water supply scheme |
| PF2 | Water supply through the public stand posts is not available |
| PF3 | Reduction in discharge of the source |
| PF4 | Partial damage/dislocation of pipes or other components due to natural calamities such as floods, landslides or wild animals |
| PF5 | Theft of laid pipes from the scheme |
| PF6 | Temporary breakdown due to mechanical/electrical faults, damage or failure |
| PF7 | Village dispute, source dispute or land dispute |
| PF8 | Old age of the scheme |
| PF9 | Any other reason |
| Code | Reason |
|---|---|
| NF1 | Theft of pump/motor/transformer from the scheme |
| NF2 | Power supply disruption |
| NF3 | Drying up of sources |
| NF4 | Collapse of DTW bores |
| NF5 | Intra/inter village rivalry or dispute over sharing of water sources, or land disputes |
| NF6 | Old age of the scheme |
| NF7 | Theft of pipes, or any other reason |
Types of Schemes
PHED provides drinking water supply through two types of schemes:
- Piped water supply schemes
- Spot source schemes
Piped Water Supply Schemes
Piped water supply schemes are divided into three categories:
A. Gravity feed schemes
- A spring or stream source is tapped by constructing a weir, and water is carried by gravity to a conventional treatment plant (sedimentation tank and slow sand filter, followed by a clear water reservoir). It is then distributed to the villagers through a network of pipelines to public stand posts/taps. A few schemes have rapid gravity or simplified treatment plants.
- Where the source is a spring, treatment plants are not provided, since the raw water is fit for human consumption.
- A few old schemes have no treatment facility, as the water source was covered by forest when they were built.
- When the schemes at (iii) are reconstructed, adequate treatment facilities will be provided.
B. River pumping schemes
The source is a river or stream, and water is pumped to the treatment plant or an intermediate sump. The treatment plant and distribution network are built as in gravity feed schemes.
C. Deep tube well (DTW) pumping schemes
These are the same as river pumping schemes, except that the source is ground water, tapped by drilling a well. Ground water is generally chemically safe for all parameters except, in some cases, iron. Iron Removal Plants (IRPs) are provided wherever excess iron is present.
Spot Source Schemes
- Hand pumps (HPs)
- Shallow or deep bores are drilled and hand pumps are installed to provide drinking water.
- Wells
- Ring wells (RCC rings placed one after another until the required depth is reached) and drinking/dug wells (lined with stone or brick masonry instead of rings).
- Spring tapped chambers (STC)
- Chambers built at the mouth of a spring to protect the source from pollution.
Findings of the Survey
A. Piped Water Supply Schemes
- There are 3,040 piped water supply schemes in the State as on 31.3.05, of which 2,777 (91.35%) are gravity feed schemes.
- Of the 3,040 piped water supply schemes, 2,329 (76.61%) are fully functioning, 538 (17.70%) are partially functioning and 173 (5.69%) are not functioning.
District-wise numbers of fully, partially and non-functioning schemes:
| Sl. No. | District/Zone | Fully Functioning | Partially Functioning | Non-Functioning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garo Hills | 1,066 | 188 | 39 |
| 2 | Jaintia Hills | 115 | 39 | 16 |
| 3 | Khasi Hills | 1,148 | 311 | 118 |
| Total | 2,329 | 538 | 173 |
- Of the 173 non-functioning schemes, 81 (46.82%) are not functioning due to theft of pipes/pumps/motors, 25 (14.45%) due to old age (expiry of design life) and 21 (12.14%) due to drying up of sources or change in river course. The remaining 46 are not functioning for other reasons such as village rivalry, defects in pumps/motors/transformers, collapse of bores, water quality problems from coal mining or excess iron, flood damage and damage by wild animals.
- 538 schemes are partially functioning for reasons such as old age (expiry of design life), damage from natural calamities and landslides, damage by wild animals, reduced discharge of the source, theft of pipes, mechanical/electrical breakdown and increase in population.
B. Spot Source Water Supply Schemes
- Most spot sources are wells (ring wells/drinking wells), followed by spring tapped chambers (STC) and hand pumps (HP).
- 5,373 spot sources had been installed up to 31.3.05, of which 4,564 (84.94%) are in working condition.
- Spot sources stop functioning mainly due to drying up of sources, collapse of bores/wells, damage to structures from old age (expiry of design life) and excess iron, and mostly cannot be repaired economically.
The district- and division-wise abstract of piped water supply schemes, with graphs, followed by details of spot source schemes, is in Part II. Division-wise information on each individual scheme (both piped and spot source) is in Part III.
Conclusion
The main reasons for non-functioning and partially functioning schemes are theft of pipes/motors, old age of the scheme (expiry of the design period), disputes over source/land, drying up of sources, damage from natural calamities, mechanical/electrical defects in pumps and motors, and collapse/drying up of bores.
The Department takes up work to restore water supply in non-functioning and partially functioning schemes based on the extent of damage and the availability of funds. For schemes affected by theft, restoration is taken up only after the final police report is received, and efforts are made to provide an alternative safe source of water as far as possible.
The number of non-functioning schemes keeps changing as repairs are taken up and other schemes stop functioning; this is a continuous process. The Department will continue its efforts to keep schemes operational and to provide and maintain adequate safe water supply to all, in spite of various constraints including limited resources.