Residents of parts of south Chennai flag disruptions in piped water supply

Residents of some areas in south Chennai have raised concerns over disruptions in piped water supply over the past few days and urged Chennai Metrowater to restore normal distribution soon.

Consumers in parts of localities like Velachery, Thiruvanmiyur, Perungudi, and Adyar said the water supply had either been irregular or inadequate in several localities for at least 10 days now.

Jayanthi Premchandran of Valmiki Nagar said the supply has dwindled in recent days, with many households not receiving water for the past two days. She alleged that the quality of water had deteriorated and called for better maintenance of Nemmeli desalination plants.

Residents of various localities in Velachery, including Vijaya Nagar, Andal Nagar, Tansi Nagar, and Ram Nagar, also raised similar complaints of dip in piped water supply. Geetha Ganesh, secretary, AGS Colony Residents Welfare Association said the problem has turned severe in tail-end areas like AGS Colony, forcing many households to rely on private water tankers. Borewells are not dependable due to high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) levels.

T.D. Babu of Shastri Nagar in Adyar noted that the supply has become intermittent over the last few days and the quality also declined. Many residents like him depended on borewells. Residents sought a lasting solution to prevent recurring disruptions.

Metrowater currently supplied nearly 1,213 million litres a day (mld), of which nearly 1,148 mld were distributed through pipelines. Though the water bodies feeding city’s water needs have nearly 45% of their storage capacity, the water agency is confident of sustaining daily supply for another six months.

Officials said efforts were underway to normalise water supply in the affected areas in one or two days. Production at the 110 mld and 150 mld Nemmeli desalination plants is being improved in a phased manner by replacing reverse osmosis membranes, a key component to produce quality freshwater. The 110-mld plant would be fully operational by the end of July.

The transmission pipelines from Nemmeli also get frequently damaged during excavation works by Chennai Metro Rail Limited and other agencies along OMR. The plant also faced operational issues after jellyfish clogged the seawater intake pipelines and the issue has been resolved, sources said.