People travelling along Poonamallee Bypass Road cannot have missed the large trenches dug up to enable laying of two large water pipelines to transfer drinking water from the Chembarambakkam treatment plant.
Once complete, several more areas in the region will receive piped water supply.
Work on laying two pipelines from the treatment plant to Porur and the southern suburbs, till Tambaram, is progressing rapidly.
At present, a pipeline with a capacity to carry 265 million litres per day (mld) conveys water to Porur from where it is distributed to various areas in central and south Chennai.
Though the water treatment plant near Chembarambakkam reservoir has a capacity to treat 530 mld, it has never been operated to its full capacity since its inception in 2007. The reason being the lack of pipelines to supply drinking water to the city.
About 30 per cent of work on laying the new 265-mld pipeline along the arterial road, covering a distance of 6.5 km, has been completed. The Rs. 45-crore project is expected to be completed by May-end, officials said.
It may be recalled that the existing pipeline from Chembarambakkam to Porur developed a leak, inundating Iyyapanthangal a year ago. To avoid such damage and also prevent leaks, flow meters will be fixed on the pipeline.
