The Times of India      07.01.2011

HENNAI: The proximity to the sea seems to be an advantage for Chennai. The state government is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to set up a third desalination plant with 200 million litres per day (MLD) capacity to meet the growing water needs of the city.

This was announced by K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, secretary of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, at the inauguration of a conference on water partnerships towards meeting climate change held here on Thursday.

Chennai is expected to witness a 400 MLD water shortage once the city limit expands from 174 sq km to 430 sq km, said Shetty. Out of this, 200 MLD can be supplied from the 100MLD desalination plants in Minjur and Nemmeli, but there would still be a shortage of 200 MLD.

"To meet this demand and to cater to the needs of a large number of industries to be setup around the city, the government is planning to set up a 200MLD desalination plant near Kanchipuram. The DPR is being prepared now," he said.

He said the desalination plant was a viable option for the state due to a long coastline, which could be put to good use. "The capacity of the proposed plant can be upgraded further based on demand," he said.

Another issue that is of concern is the recycling of sewage. Nearly 80% of the water supplied is let out as sewage. The water manager's plea to the government to introduce a policy to make water recycling mandatory for industries and commercial establishments including hotels, seems to be falling on deaf years till now. "Soon, 45 towns besides Chennai city will be getting underground sewage system. But there is no point in introducing them unless water is recycled. Recycling gutter water for general purposes should be mandatory," he said.