The only hitch that residents face is the less pressure in the supply of piped water. When contacted on this, an official said the pressure of water supply differs on alternate days. So, residents need not worry about it.

He said the main sources of water are from five reservoirs - Poondi, Puzhal, Cholavaram, Chembarabakkam and Veeranam. CMWSSB is supplying 831million litres of water to the city on a daily basis. 'Though there is water scarcity due to inadequate rainfall, we are taking adequate measures to augment supply,' the official said. The State is also expecting release of around 300 cusecs of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh to meet the demand, he added.

Apart from regular supply of piped water, Metrowater is now supplying water to residential areas with the help of 400 additional lorries. Around 4,000 trips are being made per day, the official said. Metrowater is sinking borewells and installing hand pumpsets at various places to meet the imminent demand. Also, extra tanks are put up at streets where people can draw water, he said.

The Metrowater is already supplying water to the domestic consumers through Metrowater- hired tankers on 'Dial for Water' basis at a rate of Rs 400 per load of 6,000 litres and at Rs 600 per load of 9,000 litres and also for commercial consumers at the rate of Rs 510 per load of 6,000 litres and Rs 765 per load of 9,000 litres.

It has also decided to introduce more tanker lorries into its distribution circle for the next few months to cater to the increasing demand. At present, Metrowater has 231 tanker lorries with 9,000- litre capacity and 101 lorries with 6,000-litre capacity. The lorries mainly cater to slum areas where there are no Metrowater connections or broken pipelines.

Residents can call Metrowater helpline - 4567 4567 where they would be connected to respective zones to overcome shortfall in water supply, the official said.