KARACHI, March 23: The overall water supply situation in almost the entire city will be affected badly on Monday owing to a major power breakdown that occurred at Dhabeji Phase-II pumping station on Sunday.

“Recurring power failure at Dhabeji pump house has put the city government’s Water and Sanitation Department under ‘serious stress’ because on an average three faults per month have been occurring in the three-kilometre long cable (from the facility through the National Highway) laid by the KESC in ‘70s,” a senior official of the W&S Department said.

Regretting the frequent breakdowns, he said that the interrupted power supply had not only been affecting off and on the city’s water supply situation, but also leading to the dislocation of the water supply system. Elaborating, he added that strong jerks caused by the power supply interruption often resulted in leakages in rising mains.

Pumping of water from all the four pumps at Dhabeji Phase-II installation came to halt at 10am on Sunday following power breakdown, source in W&S Department said, adding that the city had already suffered a shortfall of 52 million gallons till 8pm on Sunday.

Power supply at the station went off at 10am on Sunday and KESC technicians were trying to locate the fault. However, they had not succeeded in their search till 8pm.

KESC officials had first informed the department at about 2.30pm that they had located the fault and were trying to rectify the same by 10pm. However, in the evening they conceded that they had not yet reached the ‘precise location’ of the fault and that they could not say exactly how much time it would take to rectify the problem and restore power supply.

Apprehending that water supply to almost entire city would be affected badly on Monday, the W&S Department pointed out that in case the power supply was restored as soon as 10am on Monday, the breakdown would already have caused a shortfall of 100 million gallons.

Though all the areas would feel the impact of such a big shortfall, he added, acute shortage of water might be felt in Landhi, Korangi, Malir Town, Saddar Town, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Buffer Zone, Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town and Jamshed Town besides the adjoining localities.

He, however, claimed that water supply position of all the sprawling townships of former district West — Orangi, Baldia and Surjani — would escape a short supply despite the lapse at Dhabeji.

WORNOUT CABLE: A senior official of the W&S Department deplored that the three-km cable in question had almost worn out as it had become too old. “The cable has been subjected to repeated repair over the past 32 years,” he pointed out and claimed that the frequent power breakdowns had caused a considerable damage to the rising mains plunging the water supply system under immense stress.