CHENNAI: Little drops of water make an ocean, goes the saying. The efforts of the government and NGOs to promote rainwater harvesting have contributed towards reducing the average Chennaiite’s dependence on piped water supply with the per capita consumption falling significantly in 2009. Shortage of rains and insufficient storage in reservoirs also saw the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) reducing piped supply.

Annual average Litres Per Capita Daily (LPCD) in 2009 was 100.24 against a figure of 106.41 LPCD in 2008, a drop of 6.17 LPCD. On a monthly basis, too, the LPCD in 2008 varied from 106.38 in January to 106.79 in December. In January 2009, the consumption was 106.87 LPCD and dropped to 89.61 LPCD in December.
Between January and May 2009, LPCD was around 106 LPCD. Then, it started dropping — to 104, 100 and finally to 89.61 in December. “We reduced the supply to the city from 650 Million Litres per Day (MLD) to 570 MLD. However, rainwater harvesting and other conservation methods seem to have reduced the consumption,” said a senior CMWSSB official.

Usually, consumption is low during winter and high in summer. Though there wasn’t much rain in 2009 until November, consumption levels kept dropping. In June, the LPCD was 104.14, in July 100.54, in August it was 98.35. In 2008, during all these months, the consumption level did not move from 106.

In the case of the number of free lorry supply trips, there has been an increase. In 2008, the average number of trips made by 181 lorries carrying 9,000 litres was 785 and the number of trips by those carrying 6,000 litres was 368.