Urban News

The Hindu 23.04.2010

Corporation confident of maintaining water supply

S. Ganesan

—Photo: M. Moorthy

Precautious measure:Corporation earthmover engaged in channelising the flow in the Cauvery to provide a wetting to the drinking water infiltration and borewells in Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: Though the scorching summer and the rapid depletion of ground water table in many parts of Tiruchi has raised apprehensions among residents, the Corporation authorities have expressed confidence of meeting the city's drinking water requirements right through the summer.

According to Corporation officials, there has been no reduction in the quantum of water supplied to the city. “We continue to maintain the normal supply of 98 million litres a day (MLD) to the city. In fact, we are pumping a slightly higher quantum over the past few days and currently around 99 MLD is being supplied to the city,” Corporation Commissioner T.T. Balsamy told The Hindu on Thursday. The Corporation was fully geared up to meet the drinking water requirements and does not anticipate any problem during the summer, he said.

Over the past few years, the Corporation has sunk additional borewells around its major drinking water pumping stations on the Cauvery River Bed, to meet any possible shortfall during the summer seasons.

As many as 16 borewells were sunk around the Main Pumping Station, one of the major sources. Of these 12 have been brought into operation now and four have been kept as standby.

Of the six borewells around the collector well, four have already been brought into operation while keeping a couple more in operational readiness. At the source of the Golden Rock Combined Drinking Water Supply Scheme, six of the 11 borewells have been brought into operation.

This scheme has been usually prone to suffer a drop in yield during the summer.

The yield from the source of the Srirangam Drinking Water Scheme at the Coleroon River remained good.

Over the past few days, the Corporation has been engaged in channelising the available water flow in the Cauvery River through the infiltration wells/borewells of the city's drinking water sources so as to keep them wet. Corporation earthmovers were deployed to divert the streams of water to flow along the infiltration wells. This was done as a measure of abundant caution rather than any exigency, officials explained.

The Hindu 22.04.2010

Tiruvottiyur water scheme work soon

K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI: Chennai Metrowater is all set to issue the work order for the Tiruvottiyur piped water supply project before the end of this month. This project is a long-pending demand of the residents.

Officials of the Metrowater said the project worth Rs.85.11 crore was sanctioned under the Jawaharalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 2008.

One of the reasons for the delay in awarding the contract was the poor response when bids were invited for the first time. When the tender was floated for the second time, seven bids were received and they were being scrutinised. The project is expected to take two years, an official said.

Tiruvottiyur municipal chairman R. Jayaraman said the local body, which has a population of 2.5 lakh, is expected to be supplied up to 35 million litres a day (mld) once the project is commissioned. About 50,000 house connections would be provided.

At present, the local body is able to supply only 2.5 million litres, that too, once in five days partly through street taps. It also operates 15 tankers for water supply.

The municipality would obtain loans from Tamilnadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited and Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation to meet its share of the project cost, Mr.Jayaraman said.

Water metering system may also be implemented in the area.

The project would alleviate the water shortage problem in the local body, he added. Work is under way to provide underground drainage network in Tiruvottiyur. Nearly 60 per cent of the pipeline laying work has been completed.

Officials said the municipality had alloted five acres for a 27-mld capacity sewage treatment plant at Sathangadu.

Sewage from five pumping stations to be established in Tiruvottiyur would be pumped to the STP.

Though the project was sanctioned in 2004, the work began only in May 2007. Some of the reasons cited for the delay include technical snags and labour shortage.

Tiruvottiyur would get its underground drainage network in June 2012, the municipal officials said.