Jones Tower, an intake structure built in 1881 that still helps supply water to Chennai

Historical Jones Tower at Red Hills reservoir ensures seamless water supply to Chennai residents from British-era infrastructure.

What looks like a perfect weekend getaway spot has an inevitable and historical connection with the city’s drinking water supply. One cannot help but think of this red structure standing on the lakebed at the mention of Red Hills reservoir.

Named after British-era sanitary engineer J.A. Jones, who was one of the pioneers responsible for bringing piped water supply to the city, Jones Tower was built in 1881 at the deepest point of the lake to draw raw water by gravity even when the water level is low. A deck bridge that branches off from the top bund of the reservoir leads to the structure with blue doors. Spread over about 150 sq.ft, this small room with cast iron valves plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the water supply to the households in the city is seamless.

The valves and bell-mouth-shaped pump intake structure suspended by long chains, which are part of the inlet arrangement of the intake tower, draw water from the lakebed. The infrastructure created during the British era still functions non-stop to slake the thirst of thousands of residents in the city. The raw water drawn through the intake tower is conveyed to the Red Hills water treatment plant located 100 m away, where it is treated and distributed to various parts of the city.

The Red Hills reservoir can store a maximum of 3,300 million cubic feet of water and has a depth of 21.2 ft. “We have valves that are operated to draw water from low, middle, and top levels in the lakebed. The bottom level valve can draw water from a depth of 2 ft in the lake,” said an official of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

The water agency now operates the middle level valve to draw about 210 million litres of water a day. Water from the Red Hills reservoir is largely consumed by the residents of the northern parts and some areas in the central region of the city.

Earlier, engineers of the Water Resources Department measured the water level using a measuring scale fixed on the tubular structure. Though automated sensors have been installed to send real-time data on reservoirs, engineers manually measure the level even now.

Initially, water drawn from Jones Tower was sent to the Kilpauk Water Works through a brick conduit line that was built in 1914. Though newer infrastructure has been added to the network, the line is still in use.