Water Board MD appealed to the public to report any illegal dumping near reservoirs to local authorities or HMWSSB’s customer care number 155313

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has sought to allay public fears after social media posts claimed that septic waste was dumped into the Osman Sagar (Gandipet) reservoir, one of Hyderabad’s main drinking water sources. HMWSSB Managing Director Ashok Reddy clarified that the reservoir has not been contaminated and there is no threat to the city’s drinking water supply.

He said a private septic tanker was intercepted on the morning of December 17 while attempting to illegally discharge sewage near a Full Tank Level (FTL) point of the reservoir. The tanker, bearing registration number TG11 T1833, was caught by patrolling staff before any waste could enter the water body. A criminal case has been registered at the Moinabad police station against both the driver and the owner of the tanker.

During inspection, officials found multiple violations, including misuse of the HMWSSB logo without authorisation and the absence of proper registration with the board. The MD said such acts were aimed at misleading officials and evading checks. He warned that the board would take strict legal action against anyone attempting to pollute protected drinking water sources.

Ashok Reddy said water from Osman Sagar is supplied to the Asif Nagar and Mir Alam water treatment plants, where quality checks are conducted every hour. The board follows Indian Standard IS 10500-2012 norms and implements a three-stage chlorination process at treatment plants, main balancing reservoirs and service reservoirs, ensuring a minimum chlorine level of 0.5 ppm in supplied water.

He also noted that sewage treatment plants are being constructed around the twin reservoirs and are expected to be completed within six months, enabling 100 per cent treatment of sewage inflows.