Chennai Metro Water Remain Positive of Supply, Despite Veeranam Shortage

Chennai Metro Water is ensuring all sources are being utilised to provide adequate drinking water to the city, even as the Veeranam lake has failed to guarantee sufficient water to resume supply to the city.

The Veeranam is receiving only 323 cusecs of water, which is not adequate to be pumped into the city now, Water Resources Department officials have said.

Water is trickling into the Veeranam lake and it is not adequate to be pumped into the city’s water distribution system, making it unlikely that the city would get any water from the lake.

However, the officials said a clearer picture would emerge after two days, when the exact quantity of water in the lake would be analysed. It seems unlikely that Veeranam lake would get the full quota of the expected 0.5 TMC ft of water.

However,  Chennai Metro Water sources said the city won’t face problems as water could be sourced from 45 bore wells with submersible pump sets (30 for operation and 15 as standby) between Gadilam and Paravanar rivers over a stretch of 30 km.  As much as 60 MLD (Mega Litres per Day) could be extracted from the Neyveli Aquifer.

Chennai city’s drinking water could also be augmented by groundwater from six well fields — Minjur, Panjetty, Tamaraipakkam, Poondi, Kannigaiper and Flood Plains — situated on the Araniar-Koratalaiyar Basin. At present, the city is dependent on four reservoirs — Poondi, Cholavaram, Red Hills and Chembarambakam — which have nearly 4.5 TMC ft of water. Water from the Veeranam only supplements the supply.

Metro water officials said it is adequate for about five months, as one TMC ft of water lasts for a month. This is in addition to 100 MLD water from Minjur and an expected additional 100 MLD from Nemelli later this month.