The Hindu    28.08.2012

An account soon, of every drop of drinking water

To increase accountability in water supply management, Chennai Metrowater will soon implement a system where the entire process, from sourcing to distribution of drinking water to residents, will be monitored through a centralised online network.

The water agency floated a tender recently to implement the project using real-time data acquisition and a matrix display system.

According to sources in Metrowater, the centralised city water supply network will help the agency monitor the status of supply daily.

Electronic data acquisition equipment would be installed at the withdrawal points of five water bodies, including the one at Veeranam, at the four water treatment plants as well at the 16 water distribution stations to gain access to the volume of water drawn, treated and distributed. Ultrasonic open channel-flow measuring units would also be installed at the entry point of the Kandaleru-Poondi canal near Uthukottai. The data would then be transferred through a wireless device and received at the head office in Chintradripet.

Leakage in Chennai, according to Metrowater, is 11-12 per cent of the 830 million litres supplied daily.“The centralised system will help us assess the exact extent of loss of water during transmission from one facility to another. We can then chalk out measures to prevent it,” said an official.

The digital data collected at various points will be made available through a GPRS/GSM-based network.It will then be processed, and images of reports, charts and tables of lake storage, volume drawn and transmitted for treatment and the volume of water pumped to distribution stations and supplied into the piped network will be displayed.

Once the system is installed, officials at the headquarters in Chintadripet will be able to analyse the data and improve the system. The Rs. 2-crore project is expected to be implemented in four to six months.

Welcoming the initiative, residents want the project to be expanded to the pipeline network to deal with water supply complaints. The technology could be adopted to detect problems of low water pressure, pipeline bursts and sewage mixing in drinking water, S. Radhika, a resident of Aminjikarai, said.

Metrowater will implement a system to monitor the entire process, from sourcing to distribution