The Hindu                     18.02.2013

New lease of life for three lakes

under threatThough encroachments have been removed from the Porur lake, the water body continues to face the threat of fresh encroachments —Photo: N. Sridharan.

After years of neglect and human contamination, help is at hand for three lakes in the fringes of the city.

A few days ago, preliminary work on improving the lakes in Porur, Ayanambakkam near Thiruverkadu and Nemam near Chembarambakkam began. Though a government order was issued over a year ago to undertake work to increase the storage capacity of the lakes, the Rs. 130-crore project faced several obstacles such as delay in tendering process.

The project aims to strengthen the bund, desilt and deepen the water bodies by 2 metres and rejuvenate surplus channels.

Misuse of water body

Residents of Porur said the lake was often used as a makeshift dumping yard and cesspool to release sewage. Though encroachments have been removed, the water body continues to face the threat of fresh encroachments.

The other two water bodies in Ayanambakkam and Nemam have been exploited by private water suppliers and illegal sand miners.

For residents of Ayanambakkam, the water body is the main source of groundwater recharge. They want the WRD to expedite work as the weak lake bund often gets breached during rains. Residents of Dinesh Nagar said, when the roads got submerged after downpour, they used makeshift thermocol boats to commute.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) had proposed to increase the storage capacity of four water bodies, including Cholavaram reservoir, by nearly 600 million cubic feet (mcft), envisaging the drinking water needs of expanded Chennai in the future. At present, about 1,000 mcft is drawn from the three major reservoirs in Chembarambakkam and Red Hills to supply 810 million litres of water every day.

While work on augmenting storage at Cholavaram reservoir was completed last year, it took many months for the project to kick off in the other water bodies.

Preliminary work in progress

Officials of WRD said preliminary work on laying inspection track along the bund and stationing of equipment was in progress at all the water bodies. The first step was to fence the lakes to protect them from further abuse and encroachments.

The department proposes to fence off the lake along a radius of seven km. Thanthikal channel, which links the water bodies in Porur and Chembarambakkam, will also be improved.

“We have started demarcating the lakes’ boundaries with the help of the revenue department. We are co-ordinating with the local bodies and the Chennai Corporation to plug illegal sewage outfalls in the lakes,” said an official. The project is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The Hindu    31.08.2012

Corporation to examine feasibility of 24/7 water supply

In what could be a far-reaching and ambitious move, Tiruchi Corporation is considering the feasibility of extending round-the-clock drinking water supply in the city. Initially, the move is likely to be implemented on a pilot basis in select areas of the city.

As a first step in this direction, the corporation has planned to appoint a consultant to study and prepare a feasibility report on providing 24/7 water supply on international standards, corporation sources told The Hindu . The consultant would also identify the areas where the system could be implemented.

An official resolution would be tabled at the next meeting of the corporation council seeking its nod for appointing the consultant. Once the council cleared it, the proposal would be sent to the Commissioner of Municipal Administration seeking approval and identification of a suitable consultant.

Rs.221 crore scheme

The move comes in the wake of the implementation of the Rs.221crore drinking water supply augmentation scheme, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency, for the city. Once the scheme was commissioned, official sources pointed out, the city would get an additional water supply of 58 million litres a day (MLD), taking the total supply to 156 MLD.

Once the project was commissioned, the corporation would be able to provide round-the-clock supply, the sources said. But this would also entail introduction of a metering system to calculate the water consumed by the consumers. However, supply to slum localities would be subsidised. Corporation officials also made it clear that there would not be much difference in the existing water charges, but for minor differences.

The system, if introduced, would help in reducing the wastage by consumers and also help in bringing down the expenditure incurred by the corporation towards pumping water.

“Under the current system, the water supplied for specified duration is often stored by consumers and a substantial quantity is used for purposes other than drinking or cooking. People often use the drinking water for washing and even gardening,” a senior corporation official pointed out.

Uniform centage charge

The corporation also plans to fix uniform centage charge for providing new household water connections under the new drinking water supply scheme. About 1.10 lakh new water connections could be provided under the new water scheme. Once the scheme was commissioned, the corporation could get additional revenue of Rs.13.20 crore a year by way of the monthly water charge of Rs.100 being collected now.

The deposit for household connections could be collected either in lumpsum or in six quarterly instalments. The corporation plans to procure the required pipes and other hardware required to provide the new connections. The issue would also come for the corporation council for its decision soon.