Chennaiites are likely to get water from the city’s second desalination plant by September-end. Works of the 100mld (million liters per day) desalination in Nemmeli would be completed and production started there in little over six months, senior CMWSSB (Chennai metropolitan water supply and sewerage board) officials told DC.
Currently, the ‘crucial’ dredging (in the sea bed) works are being carried out for the plant indigenously designed and constructed by CMWSSB. Unlike in the Minjur desalination plant, experts have chosen to fully bury the inlet and outlet pipes in the bed of Bay of Bengal for the Nemmeli plant, officials pointed out adding that the sea condition was conducive for complete burial of the two 1000 mm diameter pipes in Nemmeli.
However, CMWSSB is not averse to redesign the inlet and outlet pipe laying in case of drastic change in (sea) conditions.
It may be pertinent to recall that work completion and production in Minjur plant was delayed owing to technical glitches in laying the inlet and outlet pipes in the sea.
In Minjur, the executing agency buried the pipes partially on the seabed and covered it with concrete blocks owing to high sea turbulence. With the civil works being completed, engineers are busy erecting machineries like the reverse osmosis membranes in the Nemmeli plant.
Once commissioned, the plant would augment city’s water capacity by an additional 100mld. CMWSSB requires around 840mld to meet the drinking water needs of the Chennai city, which excludes the 42 local bodies added to city corporation.
Meanwhile, project reports were being readied to identify water sources to supply water to the added areas. The overall water requirement of an expanded Chennai is expected to increase up to 3,200mld.