Chennai Metrowater department elevates sewage infrastructure to curb pollution
Authorities said that the project has been challenging, with hundreds of identified sewage outfalls still draining into the city's major waterways
CHENNAI: Chennai is all set to elevate its sewage infrastructure with new pumping stations, treatment plants and pipeline spanning hundreds of kilometres in a drive to reclaim its polluted waterways.
According to a report in The Hindu, the initiative comes as residents called for more action to stop waste from flowing into the city's minor canals. The scale of the intervention is massive, with 23 new roadside sewage pumping stations now operational in localities such as Kodambakkam and Alandur. Officials said that the stations are crucial for lifting sewage from low-lying areas and preventing overflows.
Apart from this, a major pipeline replacement project has seen 247 km of old sewer lines swapped with larger capacity pipes, with an additional 213.4 km of new lines laid as part of a Rs 385.38 crore infrastructure strengthening effort.
Authorities said that the project has been challenging, with hundreds of identified sewage outfalls still draining into the city's major waterways. While 41 outfalls have been arrested in the Cooum river and three in the Buckingham Canal, many more require plugging, they added.
The Adyar River Restoration Project also proposes new sewage treatment plants to be built using a hybrid annuity model. To complement the new infrastructure, interception lines have been laid in areas like Chintadripet and Kotturpuram to divert sewage from canals to treatment plants.
Officials said that the measures have already increased the quantity of sewage collected and treated from 600 million litres a day (mld) in 2024 to 675 mld. However, residents in Kodambakkam and MGR Nagar stress that continued efforts are needed to ensure cleaner canals that feed into the major rivers.