KARACHI: The 30 latest automatic chlorinators installed by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in its distribution network have started functioning and now clean and safe water is being provided to Karachiites, said a statement.

The KWSB statement issued on Monday said that these chlorinators have been installed on the directives of the water commission, which has been formed on the directives of the Supreme Court, so that safe and clean water that was free from deadly organisms was provided to residents of the metropolis.

It said that the automatic chlorinators, which were brought in from Germany and the United Kingdom, have been installed in a “record period” of four months at KWSB’s nine filter plants and different pumping stations.

The KWSB staffers also took water samples supplied through the water board’s pipeline network from various places in the city on an hourly basis and these were tested at the water utility’s laboratories set up in different parts of the city.

Earlier, the board staffers used to add chlorine into water manually but now, after the installation of the automatic equipment, the required quantity of chlorine is added to the water automatically.

The board had imported 35 automatic chlorinators out of which 30 have been installed while five have been kept as a backup so that in case any malfunctions, the gadgets can be replaced.

KWSB chief Khalid Shaikh on Monday visited various filter plants and other sites where the new chlorinators have been installed to monitor their functioning/operations.

He also directed the board’s chief chemist to ensure collection of hourly water samples and that these be examined carefully to ensure that people were getting clean and safe water.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2018