CHENNAI: With a disappointing monsoon and the water levels in reservoirs slowly getting depleted, the Chennai Metrowater Board is planning to tap agriculture wells in the neighbouring Tiruvallur district to cater to the city’s needs.
“We have floated tenders to tap the water from the borewells in Tiruvallur. The rates are being worked out. The water will be supplied to Red Hills,” Chennai Metrowater spokesman said.
Rejecting reports that the water would last only for a month, Chennai Metro Water said there is no need to press the panic button as the water could last for next two months.
“We have a total of 1,570 million cubic feet of water in the four reservoirs supplying water to Chennai. These include Poondi (593 million cubic feet), Cholavaram (81 million cubic feet), Red Hills (399 million cubic feet) and Chembarambakkam (497 million cubic feet),” said Chennai Metro Water spokesman.
Chennai is getting 200 MLD water from its deslination plants in Nemelli and Minjur besides it is tapping 180 MLD of water daily from Veeranam lake. “This means we are getting a supply of 380 MLD of water on any given day besides the availability of water from the reservoirs,” he added. The spokesman said that there has been no rationing of water supply in the city. “We continue to provide water 830 MLD of water to the city,” he said.
The added areas are continuing to tap the borewells, he added. However, Chennai Metro Water is taking all precautions to ensure the city does not go thirsty as the rainfall is not adequate, he said. “We have not reached the stage as we were in 2015, prior to floods, when the reservoirs had dried up. The heavy rains had saved us then,” said the spokesman.