Metro Water plans to augment supply through rented borewells

Therefore Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSS) has floated a tender for drawing water from rented agricultural bore wells to meet the drinking water needs in the city. The officials have lost hope on the North-East monsoon filling the state reservoirs. They say that though the existing water level in the lakes will be enough to tackle the drinking water scarcity in the next twothree months, the problem will be felt more during summer in 2017. 

Sources said the metro water department, which was keeping its finger crossed for good monsoon already kept some options open including drawing water using ground water sources. 

Mainly, the officials mulled over tapping water from bore wells. Though the board is gearing up to commission two more desalination plants in the coming years, it has accountability to supply metro water without interruption till the next monsoon.

“The officials have been prompted to float a tender for renting bore wells. Around 400 bore wells in Tiruvallur district will be identified and finalised in a month,” a senior engineer said. When asked about the estimation and quantum of water tapping from the bore wells, the official responded “As of now, tender is being only floated and the contracting agency after making threadbare inspections will submit the reports, after which everything will be known and subsequently work orders will be issued,” the official pointed out. 

Another official said they were compelled to go for such option in 2015 (before December), as the city was grappling with water scarcity. “We were able to identify around 300 bore wells apart from renting private agricultural borewells in Poondi, Tamaraipakkam and other available areas to draw 50 million litres a day (MLD),” he said. 

After four decades, the Chennai city witnessed unprecedented water scarcity in 2003 and 2004. The main metro water reservoirs remained dry, since the monsoon failed for two consecutive years. Also, the ground water level steadily plummeted and officials were unable to use ground water sources. 

Even water supply through pipes was suspended, CMWSSB was able to supply only around 180 MLD a day against 500 MLD. Still worse, water from various districts was transported to Chennai by trains. Later, Veeranam and desalination projects were launched to compensate water needs.