THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The iron content in the water supplied to the bottled water unit from the plant in Aruvikara was found to be above the permissible level. According to standards, iron content in treated water can be as low as 1 ppm. It should be in the range of 0.1 ppm at the bottling unit. As this is above the permissible level, the operations at the bottling plant in Aruvikkara have been stopped. After the operation came to a halt, 10 employees of the bottling unit were transferred to the plant in Thodupuzha and now they are doing the night shifts there.

Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC) took over the plant from the Water Authority in 2020. Since then, there have been criticisms of the water being of poor quality. Officials say that the water in Peppara is high in iron and it will further rise as the water level drops in summer. Recently, production at the unit was halted for a week following a shortage of bottle caps and labels.

The project for 72 MLD plant, one of the oldest plants in Aruvikkara, was conceived in 2007. Administrative permission was also received in 2013. Later, the plant was handed over to KIIDC citing technical reasons

Unused iron remover at the plant

The authorities recently installed an iron remover system at a cost of Rs 4 lakhs to remove excess iron content. But for it to work fully, the ultrafiltration unit in the plant should also be operational. As it is defunct, tenders are now being invited to install the replacement unit. A company named Flomax has been contracted to set up the unit at a cost of Rs 8.50 lakhs. It takes more than two weeks to install this.