CHENNAI: THE water from Porur lake and 22 stone quarries in Sikkarayapuram located south of the city near Chembarambakkam would soon be supplied to the city. The Kings Institute, to which the Metrowater had sent water samples from these sources, had issued an all-clear to use the water for potable purposes.
“A temporary plant has been set up and now we have to float a tender so that the water from the lake is supplied to the city through the Veeraam Pipeline which passes through the lake,” said a Metrowater spokesperson. “The idea is to tap 4 million litres (MLD) of water a day from the Porur lake. The water in the lake could last a 100 days,” said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the State Government is planning to lay a pipeline for `11.8 crore linking 22 stone quarries in Sikkarayapuram with the Chembarambakkam treatment plant. “The samples from the quarries have also been cleared by Kings Institute,” the spokesperson added.
This would provide the city with an additional 3,000 MLD.
With Poondi, Veeranam, Chembarambakkam and Cholavaram slowly drying up, the city now has only 1,500 million cubic feet (mcft) of water left in the four reservoirs for use during the summer. The rains predicted this month had failed again failed. The dark clouds over the city failed to burst and shower the city with the much-needed water.