COUNTDOWN TO MONSOON 2012 Rains arrive with threats of water-borne diseases

With the m o n - soon at t h e d o o rs t e p, Mumbaikars must brace for yet another season of contaminated water. Despite assurances from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and health authorities, people are apprehensive of waterrelated problems.      Besides leading to turbid water in taps, monsoon also brings to the city water-borne diseases. Accumulation of rainwater, contamination and lack of hygiene becomes a deadly cocktail that sparks a spurt in gastroenteritis, leptospirosis and malaria.      "There are many leakages in pipes distributing water. We have brought it to the notice of the authorities, but hardly anything gets done. The problem becomes worse during the monsoon because sewage water gets mixed with drinking water," said Kalina resident Crompton Texeira.      The issue of water contamination came under the high court's scanner last year, while it was hearing a PIL about two residents of a slum on E Moses Road, Worli, dying of jaundice in April 2010. The court rapped  the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, saying the civic body was not taking enough steps to provide clean, potable water.      This time round, additional municipal commissioner Rajiv Jalota has said emergency response teams have been put in place to check water contamination. "If we get complaints of leakage or contamination, we will send emergency response teams to the spot. We also have mobile chlorination in place so that chlorine doses can be directly put in drinking water," he said. "We will also ensure that there is coordination between the BMC's health and hydraulic departments, where one department will alert the other in case they notice problems."      Last monsoon, though the BMC worked hard on vector control and brought down the incidence of malaria remarkably, it could do nothing to stop the incidence of water-borne diseases from rising. During July and August, 2011, city doctors witnessed a spike in the number of people suffering from gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, jaundice and typhoid. More than 20 pregnant women across the city succumbed to typhoid in the two-month period.      "Contamination of water increases during the monsoon due to leakages in water pipes. This results in water from drainage and gutter pipes mixing with inlet pipes. This not only causes bacterial, but also parasitic and viral gastroenteritis," said Dr Hemant Thacker, who consults in Jaslok and Breach Candy hospitals. MONSOON PAIN & PREPARATION  THOUGH THE RAINS ARE A WELCOME RELIEF, THE SEASON BRINGS WITH IT A NEW SET OF HEALTH CHALLENGES  H E A LT H M E A S U R E S  The BMC also plans to hold 100 health camps during the monsoon  For vector control, the BMC has prepared a list of abandoned buildings and 2,622 construction sites, of which 2,078 have already been visited  On Thursday and Friday, we will hold a meeting with ward officers and health officials on monsoon ailments. The BMC aims to bring down the incidence of malaria by 50%  Dr Anil Bandivedekar | EXECUTIVE HEALTH OFFICER  C I V I C H E L P L I N E S Dial 2411 4000 for queries related to monsoon ailments Dial 1916 to report leakage problems in your neighbourhood W H Y WAT E R G E T S C O N TA M I N AT E D      Supply from the service reservoirs is intermittent. Because of the absence of water flow during non-supply hours, foul water from leaking sewer pipes easily enters drinking-water pipelines which might have been tampered with or which might have faulty fittings. Often, leakage takes place underground and remains undetected      The BMC has a 4,000-km water distribution network, which is beset with problems, including in the chlorination system at filtration and treatment plants. Because of improper purification, coliform organisms are present in drinking water. The filtration procedure is complex, leaving scope for contamination: water from the lakes is pumped to the Bhandup and Pise Panjrapur filtration plants; after a series of filtration steps, it is stored in 33 reservoirs, some of them old, across the city and later pumped to homes through distribution lines Affected Areas  Water contamination is worst in south Mumbai, where buildings and pipelines are old, and sewage water gets mixed with drinking water. But other areas in the city aren't spared either  Chawal Galli, Zakaria Street | Kalbadevi | Bhendi Bazaar | Govandi | Mankhurd | Irani Wadi & Cross roads no. 3 and 4, Kandivli (W) | Kasturba Road & Kamla Nehru Road, Kandivli (W)     If water pipelines      are secure,      contamination wouldn't happen. Generally, in tropical countries, water contamination is a phenomenon. All of us should take precautions. Water pipes are old and so there is corrosion. This should be taken care of. Also, main pipes should be protected from encroachments Indrani Malkani | TRUSTEE, V CITIZENS ACTION NETWORK  The BMC should repair pipes running alongside sewage lines. In Marol, a major water pipeline going to Bhavani Nagar runs across a storm water drain, which actually carries sewage from 60 buildings or so. Dirty water seeps into the drinking-water pipeline and results in contamination. The story is the same everywhere in Mumbai Suresh Nair | MEMBER, MILITARY ROAD RWA