Metrowater expedites linking of second pipeline from Chembarambakkam plant to Chennai’s water distribution network

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board is accelerating the work to interconnect a second pipeline from the Chembarambakkam water treatment plant to the city's water distribution network, providing an additional 265 mld of drinking water to residents.

The work to interconnect the second pipeline from the Chembarambakkam water treatment plant with the city’s water distribution network along Poonamallee High Road has been accelerated.

The plant, which has the capacity to treat 530 million litres of water daily (mld), can be operated to its full capacity once the infrastructure is ready to distribute additional water.

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is working to bridge the gaps in the second pipeline that runs for 21 km from the plant to the existing network at Porur and Koyambedu. The 2,000 mm diameter pipeline will be interconnected with branches for a distance of 1.75 km in different areas, such as Nazarethpet, Senneerkuppam, and Poonamallee.

A press release said work would be executed in the stretch till Saveetha Dental College at a cost of ₹37.10 crore. Currently, nearly 265 mld of water is being distributed from the Chembarambakkam treatment plant.

Once the work is completed in seven months, city residents will get an additional 265 mld of drinking water. Nearly 19.63 lakh residents of various zones, such as Anna Nagar, Adyar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, and merged areas, such as Valasaravakkam, Ambattur, and Alandur, will get sufficient drinking water.

The project faced various challenges, including the complex task of laying the pipeline at a depth of 6 feet from the ground level using the pipe jacking method. The project, which was chalked out in 2013, was delayed due to several reasons, including the cancellation of the contract in 2019, a National Highway widening project and Metro Rail works. Sources said the abundance of subsoil water at the site closer to Chembarambakkam lake was also a challenge in completing the work.