Chennai: Chennai Metro Water (CMWSSB) will commission a 6-lakh litre secondary treated water plant at Perungudi in November to prevent exploitation of ground and surface water by builders of mushrooming IT parks on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, commonly known as the IT Corridor. The water plant will come up on Perungudi Sewage Treatment Plant campus. It will meet the concreting requirements of major construction sites on the IT Corridor.
The capacity was worked out after a recent CMWSSB assessment put the estimated water requirement of builders of IT parks, multi-storied residential and commercial establishments on the OMR at 6 lakh litres. A consultation with flat promoters and realtors revealed that Chennai city alone requires 20 lakh litres for construction-related works for which exorbitant rates are paid to private suppliers who exploit open wells in agricultural fields and lakes in the city and surroundings.
As per the existing CMWSSB plan, the plant, which would have the capacity to treat 50 cubic meters per hour, would require two pumps for pressure and sand filters and active carbon filters to remove the colour and odour from sewage.The CMWSSB has also proposed to chlorinate the secondary treated water, which would also be put through pressure sand filters and active carbon filters, making it special construction grade water, which does not affect construction workers coming in contact with it at the sites.
An estimated Rs 56.6 lakhs would be spent on the 6-lakh litre plant, which would help save at least the like volume of ground or surface water from being exploited for non-potable reasons by the construction sector. The CMWSSB has offered to sell water at '20 per kilolitre and utilise the revenue thus generated for treatment of sewage.
