Two years ago, when R.C. Ganesh, a resident of 42nd Street in T.V.S. Colony, Mogappair, decided to have his independent house razed to the ground and construct a six-unit apartment complex, he was firm about one thing — the three-decades-old well at the plot would not be demolished.
This decision was shaped by his understanding of the water situation in Chennai, which is often faced with poor monsoon.
Besides the two-hour water supply by the Chennai Metrowater, the traditional 35ft-deep open well serves as an alternative source of water for residents of the flats at this complex.
“Water supply is one of the major challenges when independent houses are converted into apartment complexes. Because, water consumption naturally goes up in such a situation. Since 1988, when I settled down in the neighbourhood, I have seen this well go dry only once. We buy water from private tankers only occasionally as water from our well and Chennai Metrowater is often sufficient for us,” says Ganesh.
Most of the residents in the 300 independent houses and around 1,000 flats in TVS Colony have sunk borewells to supplement the supply by Chennai Metrowater every day. However, water from many of these borewells is murky and unfit for consumption.
As a result, residents of the neighbourhood including those living in small apartment complexes, have revived traditional wells by cleaning and desilting them.
Residents also linked the rainwater harvesting systems in their houses to the wells for better utilisation of excess rainwater.
Due to building restrictions by the CMDA and the Greater Chennai Corporation, the neighbourhood of TVS Colony has mostly three-storey small apartment complexes with 12 flats each, on an average.
“None of the apartment complexes in our locality has closed their wells, which are around 35ft to 50ft deep. We also advise residents planning to convert their houses into apartment complexes against closing their wells as they help recharge the groundwater table,” says V. Rajagopal, president, Anna Nagar Western Extension Phase – II Residents Welfare Association.
Drainage and space crunch at the apartment complexes are other challenges. Much of the drainage network in Anna Nagar is nearly half-a-century old. Despite apartment complexes replacing independent houses at the rate of knots, the drainage system has not been modified to ensure it can accommodate more volume. As a result, sewage overflows during monsoon is common in Anna Nagar.
