Villivakkam to get water museum at Rs 20 crore

“The water museum will be constructed at a cost of Rs 20 crore on a land parcel belonging to the Metrowater in Villivakkam. The water museum will help residents know more about Metrowater operations. This will also create awareness on effective water management,” Velumani said in the State Assembly.

In 2018, the water manager had proposed to create a water museum inside the 104-year-old Kilpauk pumping station building and studied the feasibility. However, the plan was dropped, and the location has been changed to Villivakkam from Kilpauk.

When asked, a Metrowater official said that the location has been shifted due to space constraint inside the Kilpauk pumping station.

The water museum will display technology used in desalination plants, water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, pumping stations and the water purification techniques among various types of valves, pipes and pumps used by CMWSSB. Large touch screen panels and an interactive kiosk with touch screen and server will also be provided in the water museum.

Apart from the water museum, the Minister also announced to create a technical laboratory at a cost of Rs 5 crore. The laboratory would assist the Metrowater to test the quality of construction materials such as sand, gravels, bricks and others that are used for the Metrowater civil works.

Water survey

The Metrowater will conduct a city-wide door-to-door survey to analyse the usage of groundwater. The government has allocated Rs 8 crore for the survey.

During the survey, the officials would gather details pertaining to the groundwater usage and the status of rainwater harvesting structures. The survey would also cover whether the residents reuse water used for washing vessels and clothes.