The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has issued a notice to French firm SUEZ, which is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the drinking water supply system in Kochi, over delays in restoring water supply following two recent disruptions in the city.

A large number of households were affected following maintenance work at the Aluva water treatment plant, which began on May 13. Later, water supply to over 5,000 households in the West Kochi region was disrupted following a major leak in a pipeline near Perumanoor on May 18.

It took 20 days for water supply to be normalised after the maintenance work at the Aluva plant, twice the time usually taken by the KWA. The delay in repairing the leak and restoring supply deprived households in West Kochi of drinking water for nearly four days, sources said.

Following public complaints, the KWA asked the firm to supply water to the affected families through tanker lorries. The agency also stepped in to address the issue by increasing pumping from the Maradu plant. “The KWA ensured that water was supplied to the affected families,” the sources claimed.

The KWA issued the firm a warning and directed it to address such problems more efficiently in the future. “The firm needs to be prepared to deal with such issues during major repair and restoration work,” they said.

The company signed an agreement with the KWA last year to optimise water distribution in the city. The ₹1,141.28-crore project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank.

When contacted, a senior functionary of the firm said the company had responded to the notice issued by the KWA at a recent review meeting. “Water supply to some parts of the city was affected, and we did not anticipate that the shutdown at the Aluva plant would lead to so many complaints,” the official added.