Metro water to float tender for 150MLD desal plant by Aug 31

Chennai:

Chennai Metro Water is planning to float the tender for new 150MLD desalination plant by August 31 and it would be ready in the next two years, according to a Metro Water official.

“The drought is being expected every three years as a result, the government is planning to have two desalination plants within next couple of years,” the official said.

The 400 MLD desalination plant in Nemelli is likely to be taken up soon as efforts are on to prepare detailed project report.

This would mean the city, which is expanding, will have 750MLD of water from desalination plants in the ext couple of years.

Meanwhile, the city’s water supply will be crippled with the loss of 100 MLD of water for a day with emergency maintenance work being carried out at Kattupulli desalination plant in Minjur.

The city is being supplied with around 430 MLD of water and one-day maintenance work from August 10 (10am) to August 11 (10am) will affect the water supply. “We may be getting around 350MLD of water on the that day,” sources said.

It is leant that piped water supply to Madhavaram, Manali, Thiruvottiyur, Ernavoor, Kathivakkam, Patel nagar, Radhakrishnan Nagar, Kodungaiyur, Kannadasan Nagar, MKB Nagar and Vyasarpadi will be hit.

Interestingly, Chennai Metro water is relying only on desalination plants and ground water to quench the thirst of the city.

All the four reservoirs supplying water to the city have nearly dried up with Poondi and Chembarambakkam having only dead storage. Chembarambakkam has 75 million cubic feet of water. The water is being sucked out by building a small channel to extract the water. “We may be able to get 325 MLD of water from the dead storage,” sources added. Poondi has only 19 million cubic feet of water.  

Meanwhile, efforts are on to tap Eramaiyur quarries in Mudichur. It has a potential for 1,000 MLD of water but we have to create infrastructure like laying of pipelines, the official said.

Lake levels

Poondi:

Full Capacity: 3231 million cubic feet

Storage last year: 653

current level: 19mcft

Cholavaram:

Full Capacity: 881 million cubic feet

Storage last year: 73mcft

Current level: 00 mcft

Red Hills:

Full Capacity: 3300 million cubic feet

Storage last year: 989mcft

Current level: 00 mcft

Chembarambakkam:

Full Capacity: 3645 million cubic feet

Storage last year: 1456mcft

Current level: 75 mcft

Capacity of four reservoirs: 11057 million cubic feet

Last year level: 3,171 mcft

Current level: 94mcft