A 110-year-old water treatment plant still quenches the thirst of residents in Chennai

Discover the historic Kilpauk Water Works, Chennai's first water treatment plant, preserving the city's heritage while meeting modern demands.

Nestled amid lush greenery and tall trees, a picturesque, red-bricked building presents a view straight out of a picture post card, much in contrast to the bustling New Avadi Road it sits on.

It is as though time stands still at the Kilpauk Water Works, Madras’ first water treatment plant and backbone of the treated water supply system, as the well-preserved heritage structure reflects the evolution of the city’s protected drinking water infrastructure. A large part of the infrastructure and distribution network created in the past century still remains intact.

In this 110-year-old imposing structure, a high-tension pump house, with three 5 KV capacity pumps, has been working tirelessly since 1936 to ensure that many core parts of the city do not go without water. These pumps begin whirring as early as 3.30 a.m. and transmit treated water into the distribution lines to various parts of the city for up to 10 hours a day. “Each pump has the capacity to pump a maximum of 4.5 million litres of water per hour. The control panels and the cranes used to carry out maintenance works in the pump house are also from the pre-Independence era,” said an official.

Spread over 66 acres, the water works has the capacity to treat 270 million litres of water a day (mld), and now treats and distributes 240 mld. Three of the underground sumps used to store treated water belong to the British era. More pumps were added over the years to match the demand of the growing metropolis.

The rolling shutter door at the pump house, which is as old as the treatment plant, is still in use. The manufacturer’s name, which is embossed on the shutter door from London reads, ‘S.W. Francis and Co. Ltd., Grays Inn Road, London.’

“Some distribution lines transmitting water from the plant to core areas such as Triplicane and north Chennai are just as old as. A separate old, cast iron pipeline laid to the Chennai Harbour also feeds water to the city’s major facilities such as the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital,” the official said.