Mullickghat Raw Water Intake

The Mullickghat Raw Water Intake system, operated by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), is one of the oldest and most critical water infrastructure installations in India. Drawing raw water from the Hooghly River, the system plays a vital role in supplying water to central and north Kolkata through an extensive piped distribution network.

The project involved the retrofit and replacement of a historic Mather & Platt pump (Model 18/20 CME MK2) originally supplied in the 19th century from Park Works, Manchester. The existing system, with cast iron pipelines and legacy infrastructure, posed a significant challenge, as even minor modifications were not feasible.

Wilo Mather & Platt was entrusted with this prestigious retrofit project due to its proven expertise in legacy pump replacement, design reliability, and capability to deliver solutions without disturbing existing infrastructure.

The retrofit solution required an exact 1:1 replacement of the legacy pump without altering the existing foundation, pipeline, or motor configuration. This was achieved using advanced engineering techniques:

• 3D Scanning of Existing Pump: Accurate geometry capture of the old pump to ensure precise replication.
• CFD Analysis: Performance validation and optimization of hydraulic parameters to match and improve upon the original system.

The newly designed pump was engineered to:

• Lift raw water up to 43 meters head
• Deliver a discharge capacity of approximately 2843 m³/h
• Seamlessly integrate with the existing HT motor and cast iron pipeline network

The system ensures synchronized operation with 36 large vertical turbine pumps across four pumping stations, maintaining uninterrupted water supply to the city.