Water treatment plant in Red Hills to get a new lease of life

K. Lakshmi Share Comment print T+ Residents of northern and western parts of the city may soon have better access to drinking water. The water treatment plant in Red Hills, from where many parts of Chennai are supplied and in dire need of repair, is all set to be revamped. After 16 years of its inception, the plant that has a capacity to treat 300 million litres a day (mld) would undergo a revamp. Chennai Metrowater has awarded the contract to VA Tech Wabag, which is currently constructing the desalination plant at Nemmeli on East Coast Road for the water agency, to take up the project. Rs. 10 crore alloted It has allocated Rs.10 crore towards the overhauling of the plant. Sources in the VA Tech Wabag said that besides replacing the mechanical and electrical equipments that have worn out over the years, the filter bed and the facility that carries raw water drawn from the Red Hills reservoir to the plant would also be revamped. We are able to treat and transport only 150-200 mld because of the damages in the various units of the plant. Once the improvement works are completed by February next year, we will be able to operate the plant to its full capacity, the sources said. VA Tech Wabag would also continue to operate and maintain for the next five years. It has been operating the facility for the past one decade. Sources in Metrowater said that the volume of water transported through pipeline has to be treated again at the Kilpauk Water Works to ensure quality. The treated water is supplied to residents in Vyasarpadi, Patel Nagar, Valluvar Kottam and parts of Anna Nagar. When the project is completed, water could be directly supplied to northern and western parts of the city and the extended areas such as Manali, Madhavaram and Ambattur. Moreover, 5- 10 per cent of water loss during transmission could also be prevented after the revamp of the plant. At present, residents of these localities are supplied with 30 mld of water. B.Raman, a resident of Madhavaram, said many people like him have to depend on street taps or tankers for drinking water. I have to manage with the few pots of water that I fetch once in two or three days. I find it difficult to cope up with the erratic supply particularly during summer. The government must ensure that we are provided water connections soon, he added.

The gap between the demand and supply in newly added areas could be bridged once the water supply schemes in Ambattur and Madhavaram and the work at Red Hills treatment plant are completed. Estimates are being prepared for the comprehensive water supply scheme for Madhavaram at a cost of Rs.55 crore. The financial assistance would be obtained from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Keywords: water treatment plant, Red Hills reservoir