The State Government is studying the detailed project report the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board has submitted for executing the Pilloor III drinking water supply augmentation project.
The project aims at supplying an additional 317 million litres a day (mld) of Bhavani water to residents within the Coimbatore Corporation limits.
Financial assitance
The Board officials say that in the report they have envisaged executing the project at Rs. 964 crore, with financial assistance from the Central Government under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation scheme.
In the initial stage, the Board plans to tap only around 180 mld and will do so till 2035, which is the intermediary year for the project.
Population
The city's population then is projected to be 24.87 lakh. Thereafter, the Board will supply 317 mld till 2050, which is the ultimate stage of the project. The population then is projected to be 32.79 lakh. At present, the population is over 16 lakh.
The project involves tapping River Bhavani water near the Tangedco barrage in Samayapuram village, which is five km upstream of Mettupalayam.
From there, the Board will convey the water by pumping it to a treatment plant it will construct in Marudhur, which will be 16.5 km away from the tapping site.
From there, it will again pump the water for 33 km to the main storage tank in Pannimadai after taking the pipeline for 900 m through a tunnel.
Two feeders
And, again from there through two feeder mains (pipelines that convey water from one tank to another) to six master balancing reservoirs (tanks) in Pillaiyarpuram, Press Enclave, Valarmathi Nagar, Bharathi Park and two tanks in Ramakrishnapuram. Of the six, the Board will construct tanks in Pillaiyarpuram – 20 lakh litres, Press Enclave – 15 lakh litres and Valarmathi Nagar – 20 lakh litres. The remaining six are in use as part of the Coimbatore Corporation’s drinking water supply arrangement.
In all, the Corporation will lay pipeline for less than 100 km. To construct the tanks and lay pipelines, the Board with assistance from the Corporation will acquire 162 acre, of which 131.45 acre are with individuals.
The rest belongs to the Revenue Department, the officials say and add that it will use Rs. 104 crore of the Rs. 964 crore for land acquisition.
Technical sanction
Once the Government clears the proposal and issues a government order to execute the work, the Board will again send the proposal for administrative and technical sanctions before floating tenders.
