The Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam canal may soon become less polluted as Chennai Metrowater proposes to clean it up and ensure better flow.
At present, sewage received from house service connections is being treated and released into waterways such as the Cooum and Buckingham canal. Metroater now proposes to pump water from the Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam canal and send it to the nearby Koyambedu sewage treatment plant through the existing pipeline network.
As a pilot project, the treated water would be released into the lower reaches of the canal to ensure a cleaner waterway, sources in the Metrowater said.
The canal runs to a stretch of nearly 10 km and covers areas such as Virugambakkam, Koyambedu, Arumbakkam and Choolaimedu before reaching the Cooum. Residents recalled that the canal had undergone improvement works such as construction of a flood protection wall and desilting under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission a few years ago.
They said the canal largely carried sewage.
S. Arumainathan, a resident of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Virugambakkam, said several households continued to illegally release sewage into the canal. Metrowater, however, claimed that it released only treated sewage from its facility in Kulasekarapuram, he said.
Residents of Virugambakkam demanded that the sewage outfalls must be plugged and free flow ensured to reduce mosquito menace.
Experts also suggested that a portion of the water treated from the canal be supplied to industries.
At present, the water agency is supplying treated water to industries from Kodungaiyur sewage treatment plant.
