CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu C Joseph Vijay on Monday inspected the under construction 400 million litre per day (MLD) desalination plant at Perur in Chengalpet district and asked officials to complete the work in the stipulated time to meet the region’s growing drinking water needs. The plant is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 5,814.57 crore to strengthen Chennai’s long-term drinking water supply. Once commissioned, the Perur desalination plant will benefit nearly 2.267 million people residing in areas under the Greater Chennai Corporation, Tambaram City Municipal Corporation and 20 neighbouring village panchayats.Officials informed him that major marine works had also made significant progress. Two seawater intake pipelines measuring 1,200 metre and 1,210 metre in length and an 840-metre brine outfall pipeline, all with a diameter of 2,500 mm HDPE, had been laid beneath the seabed. The offshore intake caisson had also been connected to the pipeline network, they said.As part of the project’s transmission infrastructure, pipelines of 2,000 mm, 1,800 mm and 1,000 mm diameters were being laid over a distance of 59 km from Perur to Porur. Of the 41.51 km of pipelines procured, 12.36 km had already been laid. Along the ECR-Kovilancheri junction stretch, 7.74 km of the proposed 27.1 km of 2,000 mm diameter pipeline had been completed.The chief minister also visited the 110 MLD and 150 MLD desalination plants in Nemelli operated by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). During the inspection, he reviewed the functioning of the intake sump at the 110 MLD facility and examined the reverse osmosis (RO) building and SCADA-based control systems at the 150 MLD plant.Chennai currently receives about 1,230 MLD of drinking water sourced from the Poondi, Cholavaram, Red Hills, Kannankottai-Thervoy Kandigai, Chembarambakkam and Veeranam reservoirs, in addition to the two desalination plants at Nemmeli. To meet the growing demand for potable water, the govt is constructing the 400 MLD desalination facility at Perur.
