CHENNAI: Ten years after 357 sewage outfalls into the city’s major waterbodies were identified, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), known as Chennai metro water, has not plugged the sewage outfalls completely.
According to metrowater status report, the physical progress of outfalls identified under Phase II was still at 99% overall. According to the report, 100% of sewage plugging and diversion work has been completed in the Adyar basin and 100% of sewer outfalls in Cooum river basin have been plugged under three packages.
As far as the Buckingham canal is concerned, 100% of outfalls have been plugged under one package and the remaining two packages show a progress report of 95% and 99.5%. This has been done at Rs 175 crore. According to metrowater officials, after the 357 outfalls were identified, 179 were plugged and subsequently under phase II, in 2014, 158 outfalls were closed. This included 39 outfalls in Adyar and 37 outfalls in Cooum that were identified and the plugging of these outfalls were almost complete, according to officials.
However, in reality, the major waterways are far from being rid of sewage. A trip along the Cooum in Chintadripet and Greams Road showed that there were still at least two sewage outfalls in even a three-kilometre stretch of the river. The outfall spots were also observed to be shifting from time to time- for instance, an outfall that TNIE observed last year off Langs Garden Road was closed but another outfall in the proximity has opened up.
According to metrowater officials, the challenge has been to identify inadequate capacities in sewer lines and take measures to rectify them. “The work is not as easy as simply plugging sewage as and when it is observed. This will only lead to outfalls in other locations. We have to find the source behind each outfall and identify areas of inadequate capacity and strengthen or build new infrastructure like modular sewage treatment plants for it to be a comprehensive solution,” said a senior metrowater official.
When reviewing the status of 10 projects across various departments that were taken up under the Infrastructure and Amenities fund at a committee meeting held in July, the promotion committee stated that various projects that included the plugging of sewage outfalls to prevent untreated sewage from getting into waterways-phase II, the progress has not been satisfactory although the necessary funds have been released.
Waterways or sewers?
A trip along the Cooum in Chintadripet and Greams Road showed that there were still at least two sewage outfalls in even a three-kilometre stretch of the river. The outfall spots were also observed to be shifting from time to time