Chennai: 9 lakh more homes to get desal water – Times of India

CHENNAI: Nine lakh city residents are set to get drinking water supply by April 2023 as work on the new desalination plant is fast progressing.
Residents of Ullagaram Puzhudhivakkam, Velachery, Madipakkam, Sholinganallur, Alandur, St Thomas Mount and Pallavaram will be supplied with water from the new plant coming up at Nemmeli next to the existing desalination plant. Those living along the IT corridor will also get piped water supply, said a Metrowater official.
Chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday inspected the new plant which has capacity to supply 150 million litres of treated water. The CM inspected work on intake sump, product water tank, product water pumping station, clarified water tank, dissolved air flotation, ultra-filter, reverse osmosis process, sludge thickener and Lamella clarifier. Metrowater has already begun laying pipelines from this plant to the Pallavaram area.
The city depends mainly on the northeast monsoon and when it fails, it faces water shortage. To overcome this problem, the two desalination plants at Minjur and Nemmeli were set up with a capacity to treat 100 million litres of sea water a day. These plants fulfill the water needs of several localities in north and south Chennai.
The first plant was inaugurated by then chief minister M Karunanidhi. The foundation stone for the one at Nemmeli was laid by present chief minister, M K Stalin when he was deputy chief minister in 2010.
Treated water from the Nemmeli desalination plant is being supplied to residents in Velachery, Pallippattu, Adyar, Besant Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelangarai, Sholinganallur, besides IT companies in south Chennai.
As on Tuesday, Metrowater draws 55 million litres of treated water from its desalination plant and 88 million litres of treated water from the Minjur desalination plant. The capacity of each of these plants is 100 million litres a day. With the six reservoirs including Veeranam brimming with water, Metrowater reduced the quantity of water it draws from these two plants, said a Metrowater official.