Treated wastewater to fulfill water demands in Chennai

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) is all set to use tertiary treated waste water to address the growing needs of residents of the city and bridge the gap during years of scanty rainfall.

According to the officials, the use of treated waste water for the city supply will start by this April end or early May. The CMWSSB has sought the help of IIT Madras for the approval of the design of the tertiary treatment plants to be installed in Nesapakkam and Perungudi. The institution will also be roped in to check the quality of the treated water.

The officials said initially treatment plants with a capacity to treat 10 million liters a day (MLD) of waste water would be added in Nesapakkam and Perungudi, and the treated waste water would be released into Porur and Perungudi lakes. Further, the water drawn from these lakes would be treated again before its supply to the city.

The initial capacity of supplying water to city will be 18 MLD once the facility gets ready, but the capacity of the plants can be increased up to 260 MLD depending upon the needs and availability of water resources in the city. An official of CMWSSB said, “We want to complete the work in 10 months to reduce the water crisis in the city.”