The Tiruchi Corporation has planned to establish a permanent treatment plant at the Coleroon Drinking Water Supply Augmentation Scheme to reduce the iron content in the water and address the persistent complaints on the water being discoloured in some parts of the city.
Ever since the water scheme was commissioned in 2014, there have been complaints from residents that the piped water supplied to them was muddy and discoloured. The scheme, sanctioned at an initial estimate of Rs.221.42 crore, was executed with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The scheme aimed at increasing the per capita drinking water supply to 135 litres a day and ensuring equitable distribution to all parts of the city. Thirty-seven new overhead tanks were built under the new scheme
The new scheme has its source at the Coleroon River where collector wells have been built. The Corporation is currently said to be pumping about 30 million litres a day (MLD) from the scheme.
Residents in several pockets of the city have complained that were getting discoloured water ever since the corporation started pumping water directly from the new scheme. The iron content in the water is also said to be high. Councillors representing some of the wards in the areas have been raising the issue at the corporation council over the past few months.
Following this, the Corporation had taken up a pilot project to treat the water as the iron content was said to be slightly higher than the permissible level of 0.3 mg per litre.
Corporation sources said that under the pilot project the iron content had come down after the treatment process. Hence, the civic body has now planned to go in for a permanent treatment plant. The Corporation would soon call for expression of interest for drawing up the detailed project estimate for the project after obtaining approval from the Commissioner of Municipal Administration.
The proposal would be forwarded to the Commissioner of Municipal Administration after an official resolution is approved on the issue by the Corporation Council, the sources added.
