India : Kerala Urban Water Services Improvement Project

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban water supply

The proposed Kerala Urban Water Services Improvement Project (KUWSIP) will support water supply improvement in two cities of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram through rebuilding resilient and sustainable infrastructure under the Rebuild Kerala Development Program (RKDP). The project will complement ongoing 'Rebuild Kerala Initiative of the Government of Kerala (GOK) post flood disaster of 2018.

KUWSIP will support in: (i) improving efficiency of water distribution network in Kochi, (ii) refurbishment and upgradation of the water treatment plants in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to meet the newer Indian drinking water standards, (iii) rehabilitation of water pumping stations in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to improve efficiency, and (iv) upgradation of institutional capacity to support the proposed interventions and to ensure sustainable benefits.

Kerala, with an estimated population of 35 million, is the second most rapidly urbanized state in India. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital and largest city of the state, while Kochi is the second largest and one of the fastest growing urban areas in India. As Kerala becomes increasingly urban, safeguarding cities and towns through resilient spatial planning, infrastructure development, and service delivery is critical for the population and the economy. Despite Kerala's decentralized administration and governance set-up and progress on reforms, the state has not yet been able to tap on the potentials of rapid urbanization, nor turned its cities into key economic drivers.

The coverage of all urban services including access to drinking water supply in Kerala is below acceptable limits. The state lags notably on delivery of reliable, efficient, and sustainable piped water supply to its citizens. This has serious implications on health and well-being of the population, especially for vulnerable households and during disasters triggered by natural hazards. Based on 2018 data from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), about 60% of the population in urban areas have access to household connections and public stand posts while remaining population use groundwater. Furthermore, vulnerable households have lower access to piped water than the average household. There is a huge service delivery gap in addressing the sustainable development goals, which stress on quality of and access to water. KWA is planning to improve urban water supply services in a phased manner under RKDP with two major cities of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram as priority under KUWSIP.

KWA has been developing water supply systems, which were designed to the standards that applied at that time. Both cities have enjoyed about 70% coverage of metered household connections, and water tariffs have been levied and paid contributing to bulk of the revenue of KWA. However, in more recent years the levels of service have been deteriorating with intermittent and inequitable water supplies, and low-pressure areas are developing due to lack of maintenance and improvements through rehabilitation of assets. The water distribution pipelines are suffering faults at a rate that is ten times the accepted norm and approximately half of them need replacement. Non-revenue water (NRW) has been steadily increasing and reached to 50% and above. The failing of the pipelines is placing an ever-increasing maintenance burden on the KWA in trying to keep up with fixing leaks.

As a result of the large NRW in the networks, all the water treatment plants (WTPs) servicing the two cities are being challenged by the demand for ever higher volumes of water. Most WTPs are now operating above their respective design capacities and are using techniques and processes that are not able to meet the Indian drinking water quality standards introduced in 2012. Consequently, the quality of water at customer taps has also been deteriorating, which is increasing the risk to public health. Most water pump stations are operating above their respective design capacities, which is causing them to operate inefficiently and unreliably. A backlog of capital maintenance has been steadily growing where an intervention is urgently required.

Living standards and wellbeing of citizens in Kerala improved to withstand future disasters

Inclusive access to safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable water supply in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram achieved

Climate resilient water supply system in Kochi improved

Climate resilient water treatment and pumping systems in Thiruvananthapuram improved

Institutional capacity of KWA for service delivery improved