Do you know that Chennai loses over 50% of potable water due to leakages in the distribution network? What’s worse, this is unaccounted for on paper!
The State government is keen to curb the non-revenue water (NRW) losses, which could save the exchequer thousands of crores, according to K Ashok Natarajan, CEO of Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company (TWIC).
NRW is water that is lost or unaccounted for enroute between the water supplier and the customer. It is a major challenge for water utilitity companies where technology and resources to address the problem are often limited.
Talking to City Express on the sidelines of the two-day Indo-Australia workshop here, he said, “The city alone produces around 1,400 MLD of potable water a day and if efforts are on to curtail the non-revenue water loss by 20% in the next three years, Chennai can save Rs 1,000 crore.”
Natarajan stressed the need for mapping the entire water distribution network through a global information system. “We also need for technologies like leak detection system and trenchless technology to cut down on losses by a minimum of 20% at the minimum,” he added.
Chennai Metro Water has assigned TWIC to survey three zones of Royapuram, Kodambakkam and Mylapore to find out how many streets are facing the problem of potable water getting polluted, but the survey could not be completed due to the floods.