Chennai will be able to recycle 25% of its wastewater for industrial and indirect use by this year end. Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) will begin trial operations of its pilot projects using tertiary treatment ultra filtration in March.
Work is in full swing to build wastewater reclamation plants at Nesapakkam and Perungudi with a capacity to handle 10 million litres a day (mld). The recycled water from these plants would be blended into Porur and Perungudi lakes and again pumped and treated at water treatment plants on the site and distributed to the city through the drinking water supply network.
Water board officials said while the plant at Nesapakkam would be ready in March, work on the Perungudi facility would be completed by June. Pipeline network to convey recycled water and draw from lakes has been completed in both the localities.
“This project will help in making the city water-resilient as demand for freshwater will reduce. As lakes will be fed throughout the year, groundwater will be recharged,” said an official. The water board recently submitted a draft detailed project report to expand its infrastructure to reuse 110 mld of wastewater for World Bank funding under the Chennai City Partnership programme. Officials said of the proposal to reuse 260 mld of wastewater, the draft project report had been sent for 110 mld seeking ₹1,000 crore.
The capacity of plants at Nesapakkam and Perungudi would be upgraded to 50 mld and 60 mld respectively and treated water from here would be blended into Porur and Perumbakkam lakes.
The infrastructure would be upgraded in a phased manner and 13 waterbodies had been identified for the project. “We have received proposals from SIPCOT and One Hub Chennai industrial park seeking 20 mld of reclaimed water,” the official added.
