Nagpur: Water in Kanhan River turned muddy due to suspected flow of fly ash from the nearby thermal power plants. The Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Kanhan was shut down by Orange City Water (OCW ) as the ash content had turned the water muddy. The water supply to several areas of East Nagpur and parts of North Nagpur was thus affected due to closure of WTP at Kanhan.
The ash bunds of Khaparkheda might have breached due to heavy rains resulting in flow of fly ash in the river water. Previously fly ash from Khaparkheda polluted the Kanhan River. Since the morning of July 9, the heavy rains in the catchment area of Kanhan and its tributaries have caused a flood-like situation at the intake well. To tackle the situation, OCW pressed divers who worked to clean the strainers. The task, however, is very tedious and it’s very difficult to clear the small pores through which water is lifted to WTP.
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05 May 2025
On Sunday, the situation turned worse as early morning inspection revealed substantial presence of fly ash in the waters. As a matter of precaution, intake well pumps at the dry well Nos.1 & 2 located on the right bank of the Kanhan River were shut down. The treated water pumping was stopped and all processed water from the multi flow units and all TGV filters were flushed out as a matter of abundant precautions.
After completion of flushing, the raw water pumps only from the Jackwell were restarted. Due to restricted raw water then only partial clear water pumping (3 pumps only) was kept operational. By Sunday evening there was no visible fly ash in the flowing Kanhan river water following which WTP was restarted fully.
Meanwhile, Chief Engineer, Khaparkheda TPS, has washed off claims about breaching of its ash bunds and instead claimed that due to heavy rains the ash could have been washed away from brick manufacturing units. He also mentioned a joint inspection carried out at 11 am by officers of MahaGenco and OCW on the bank of Kanha-Kolhar confluence that indicates muddy water. MahaGenco officials however said due to continuous incessant rain instructions have been relayed to take preventive measures so that fly ash ponds do not overflow.
