Vijay Launches ₹3,108-Crore Chennai Ring Pipeline Project For Equitable Water Supply

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay laid the foundation stone for a ₹3,108.55-crore ring main pipeline system intended to interlink Chennai’s water sources and ensure an equitable and uninterrupted supply of drinking water in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) area.

The project is being implemented by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). Mr. Vijay launched the closed circular loop project at the Chennai Metrowater pumping station in Sholinganallur.

Project to connect Chennai’s water sources

According to an official release, Chennai’s major water sources include the Puzhal, Cholavaram, Veeranam, Chembarambakkam, Thervoy Kandigai-Kannankottai and Poondi reservoirs, as well as the Krishna river.

Water from these sources is treated at plants in Puzhal, Surapet, Kilpauk, Chembarambakkam and Veeranam. The city’s supply infrastructure also includes a desalination plant at Minjur and two desalination plants at Nemmeli.

The CMWSSB currently supplies 1,260 million litres per day (MLD) of treated and safe drinking water through 143 distribution stations. The supply meets the needs of approximately 91 lakh people in the GCC area.

At present, the infrastructure is designed to carry water from individual treatment plants to designated parts of the city through primary pipelines. However, there is no adequate alternative arrangement to supply water if a disruption occurs at any of the water sources or treatment facilities.

The ring main project is intended to address that gap by interconnecting all nine treatment facilities in the city. These include five water treatment plants, three desalination plants and the 400 MLD desalination plant being constructed at Perur.

Pipelines and monitoring systems

The project is being implemented with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank. It involves laying 91.2 km of interconnected pipelines, 64.2 km of water transmission pipelines and 2.65 km of pumping mains.

The planned system will also include instruments to measure water pressure, flow and quality at treatment plants and distribution stations. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems will be installed as part of the project.

These systems will enable continuous monitoring from the control room at the Chennai Metrowater headquarters. The monitoring arrangements are part of the project’s planned infrastructure for tracking conditions across treatment facilities and distribution stations.

Ministers N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, P. Venkataramanan, Rajmohan, N. Marie Wilson and R. Kumar were present at the launch. Additional Chief Secretary to the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department Gagandeep Singh Bedi, senior officials and MLAs also attended.

Inspection of flood mitigation works

Later, Mr. Vijay inspected the ongoing flood mitigation measures at Okiyam Maduvu in Karapakkam. According to an official release, he instructed officials to expedite the ongoing works.

Source: The Hindu