The commissioning of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided drinking water scheme in the city on May 18 promises to put in place buffer storage of drinking water in 11 reservoirs in addition to increasing the availability of water in the drinking water distribution network.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is scheduled to ‘switch on' the scheme. Once all the JICA reservoirs were in place, they would hold enough water to provide for a 12-hour backup to the city's distribution network, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran said here on Saturday.
He was interacting with presspersons during a tour of the 74 mld JICA plant at Chithirakkunnu. The distribution network of the JICA scheme is expected to be fully commissioned by December 2010.
The new plant along with the three others already in operation would see the city through till 2021. In that year, the production at this plant would be enhanced by 36 mld. This is expected to serve a population projected for the year 2036, he said. The ‘pulsator clarifier' (a technology patented by Degremont) which is being used at the JICA plant to remove impurities from the raw water is expected to not only ensure greater removal of such impurities but also to contribute to speeding up of the production of drinking water at the plant, he said.
To a question, Mr. Premachandran said Shashi Tharoor, MP, had promised that he would intervene with the Central government to try and get clearance for downing the shutters of the Peppara dam. This was critical for ensuring continued water supply to the capital city in the coming years, the Minister said.
On the extraction of sand from the Aruvikkara reservoir, he said the process had temporarily been stopped.
