Will cater to residents of areas liek Velachery, Palavakkam and Perungudi

In about two years, Chennai will get water from its third desalination plant.

The project, that will supply 150 million litres a day, is likely to be launched in Nemmeli on Thursday, Metrowater officials said. The plant will cater to residents of several areas, including Velachery, Palavakkam and Perungudi.

In addition to this, for establishing the fourth desalination plant in Perur, that will supply 400 mld to the city, Metrowater has set the ball rolling after a lot of delay.

A fourth one

The project management consultant will be chosen in a month, and the tender for the project will be floated by the year-end, officials said.

This plant will cater to people in areas such as Tambaram, Pallavaram and Kattankulathur, Metrowater officials added.

On questions raised regarding the drop in output in the already functional 100-mld Nemmeli desalination plant, Metrowater officials said the plant was now producing 70-80 mld of treated seawater.

“This year, the white fibrous particles found in seawater were not settling down. It’s a rare phenomenon. As these particles were choking the filtration process, the production was brought down to 70-80 mld,” said a senior official.

“We have sought the support of IIT Madras and the National Institute of Ocean Technology to analyse the reasons and provide solutions. The report is set to be submitted in one or two weeks,” the official added.