COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board has initiated the process of handing over the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Pillur Scheme 3 drinking water supply project to the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), as the former's O&M period ended several months ago.
The Rs 779-crore Pillur-III scheme, commissioned in 2024, supplies around 178 million litres of drinking water (MLD) every day to several parts of Coimbatore city. The project was executed by the TWAD Board, which has been operating and maintaining the scheme for more than a year.
Coimbatore receives drinking water from the Siruvani and Pillur reservoirs, as well as the Aliyar dam. Water from the Pillur dam is distributed through Pillur-I, Pillur-II, Pillur-III and the Kavundampalayam-Vadavalli-Veerakeralam (KVV) Combined Water Supply Scheme.
At present, the TWAD Board manages the operation and maintenance of Pillur-I and Pillur-III, while the civic body is responsible for Pillur-II.
Officials said the civic body had earlier sought additional time to take over the project, citing Assembly election-related work and other administrative commitments. With the elections now over, the TWAD Board has formally written to the corporation to begin the transfer process.
CCMC Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja, who recently inspected the facilities at the Pillur dam, has proposed constituting a technical committee to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the scheme before it is formally taken over.
Following the inspection, a report will be submitted to the Director of Municipal Administration (DMA). The transfer is expected to be completed in August after obtaining approval from the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department's secretary.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior TWAD Board official said that the civic body would take over the O&M of the scheme's key infrastructure, including the raw water and clear water pipelines, feeder mains, distribution lines, mass storage tanks (MSTs), a pumping station equipped with four high-capacity motor pumps, and other associated facilities.
"However, the 178-MLD water treatment plant will continue to remain under the TWAD Board's control. As per the agreement, the Board will operate and maintain the treatment plant for a total period of 10 years before transferring it to the corporation. Since three years have already elapsed, the treatment plant will remain under TWAD's supervision for another seven years before being handed over to the CCMC."
Officials said that as the TWAD Board was enduring additional expenses in operating and maintaining the Pillur scheme 3 water supply, and as the O&M period had already expired six months ago, the decision to transfer the complete control of the water supply scheme was the need of the hour.
Pillur Scheme 3 Drinking Water Supply Project
Works started - 2018
Works completed - 2024
Total Water Supply Capacity - 178.30 MLD
Total Cost - Rs 779.86 crore
Treatment Plant cost - Rs 104.90 crore
(`77 cr for construction and Rs 27.9 cr for O&M)
Pumping Station cost - Rs 134 crore
Tunnel cost - Rs 61.35 crore
Tunnel length - 900 metres
MST, Pipelines & Road cost -Rs 530 crores
(Rs 479.5 crore + Rs 50 crore)
Total Mass Storage Tanks (MST) - 2
Capacity of each MST - 73 MLD
Total MST cost - Rs 104 crore
Pumping Station located at - Samayapuram village
Treatment Plant located at - Maruthur Panchayat
MSTs located at - Panneermadai (Pannimadai)
Length of Clearwater line between treatment plant & MSTs - 14.5 km
Current water supply - 168 MLD
Additional water being drawn to manage the water supply shortage from the Siruvani Dam