Kerala Water Authority has 161 disused water tanks across State

The mishap on Monday (November 10, 2025) where the wall of a water tank collapsed at Thammanam in Ernakulam has turned the spotlight on the condition and age of tanks managed by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA).

Incidentally, Opposition Congress-led UDF had raised the matter in the State Legislative Assembly on September 18 this year, to which Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine replied that the KWA has 161 disused tanks across the State. Ernakulam has the highest number at 27.

The ruptured ground-level tank at Thammanam, though several decades old, was still in use and presumably not in this list.

M.K. Muneer of the IUML had, in an unstarred question, wanted to know the steps taken by the State government to prevent these disused tanks turning into breeding grounds for mosquitoes, posing a threat to public health.

Mr. Augustine had gone on to add that, while the department does not have any specific project for dismantling old tanks, steps are taken to tear down structures that are in a dangerous condition using available funds and “as per existing rules.”

According to Mr. Augustine, tanks that pose a threat to public health or face imminent collapse are dismantled with all urgency.

According to the written reply given by Mr. Augustine to a question by Mr. Muneer in the Assembly, Palakkad has the second highest number (22) followed by Alappuzha (20) and Thiruvananthapuram (14). The number of disused KWA water tanks in the other districts are as follows: Kasaragod (10), Kannur (11), Wayanad (7), Kozhikode (4), Malappuram (9), Thrissur (8), Idukki (13), Kottayam (8), Pathanamthitta (0), and Kollam (8).