CMWSSB

On a late Wednesday evening in mid-April, a queue of women forms in front of the water tap at Doraiswamy Reddy Street, Korattur. Leaving their domestic chores and cooking half done, these women have rushed with their pots and cans to source their bi-weekly water supply from the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). The anxiety on their faces is palpable. Not everyone will have filled pots to take back home at the end of the evening. A light brown coloured liquid with a rotten smell trickles down the road, as a woman opens the tap. She just lets…

Did the recent rainfall help to bring about any significant increase in the groundwater level in your neighbourhood? You can check the data online now.  In a bid to assess groundwater level across the city, so that it can take proactive measures when the table dips, the Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has installed 200 groundwater monitoring devices and 20 rain gauges across 15 zones of the city. Notably, Chennai is the first Indian city to have a comprehensive automatic groundwater monitoring system. But why do we need such a system in the first place and how will it…

Just like all civilizations, Madras also drew sustenance from a river. Historically, Adyar and Cooum Rivers played a pivotal role in the flourishing of Chennai. But today, with these rivers polluted, Chennai is largely dependent on the Northeast monsoon (mid-October to mid-December) that recharges groundwater. The presence of hundreds of lakes and temple tanks is a silver lining, but with most of them encroached and polluted, they don’t meet the water demand of the ever-growing city. So how exactly does this city of roughly 11 million people sustain itself? Where do you get the water that flows in your taps…

Translated by Sandhya Raju 2019-ம் ஆண்டில் ஏற்பட்ட கடுமையான தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனையை தொடர்ந்து சென்னை பெருநகர  குடிநீர் மற்றும் கழிவுநீர் வாரியம் (CMWSSB) சில இலக்குகளை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. இது நிறைவேறினால் நம் நகரம் தண்ணீர் பாதுகாப்பு உறுதி பெறும். இது வரை முற்றிலும் தண்ணீர் வசதி பெறாத பகுதிகளுக்கும் , போதிய அளவு தண்ணீர் பெறாமல் இருந்த பகுதிகளுக்கும் இந்த ஆண்டு குடிநீர் வாரியம் தனது சேவையை அளிக்க உள்ளது. இதனுடன் கீழ்கண்ட முயற்சிகளையும் முன்னெடுக்க உள்ளது: 1. கழிவு நீர் மறுசுழற்சி நகரத்தில் அதிகரித்து வரும் தண்ணீர் தேவையை பூர்த்தி செய்ய, கழிவுநீர் சுத்திகரிப்பு நிலையங்களை அதிகரிக்க குடிநீர் வாரியம் திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. கொடுங்கையூர் மற்றும் கோயம்பேட்டில், ரிவர்ஸ் ஆஸ்மோசிஸ் சுழற்சி முறையில் இரண்டு சுத்திகரிப்பு நிலையங்கள் தற்போது உள்ளன. இவை தலா 45 mld அளவு நீரை தருகின்றன. அருகில் உள்ள தொழிற்சாலைகளுக்கு இந்த நீர் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றன. இதன்…

In view of the severe water crisis that gripped Chennai in 2019, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB or Metro Water, in short) has unveiled a set of goals for 2020, which if met could help make the city water secure. The agency plans to extend its services to the underserved and unserved areas in the city this year, and ensure the following: 1. Reuse of Waste Water In order to meet the growing water needs of the city, Metro Water plans to expand the number of wastewater treatment facilities in Chennai. The city has seen two…

Chennai found itself in the grip of an acute water crisis last summer. The city saw a deficit monsoon the previous year and the reservoirs had all but run dry. Thus began a period of acute hardship for Chennaiites that lasted months. Long queues for tanker lorries across neighbourhoods became a common sight. Families survived on a mere three pots of water a day and women bore the brunt of the crisis, having to forego time at work or school to gather water. The crisis was however not without warning. Signs of scarcity had been looming for a while, but little…

We often hear about encroachments and solid waste sounding the death knell for water bodies in Chennai. Villivakkam Lake is no exception; it shares the same plight as any other water body in the city. However, it is set to change. Corporation officials say that the transformation of this 36.5 acre lake will be revolutionary -- replete with state-of-the art recreation facilities such as walkway, gym, children's play area, library, food and play courts, open air theatre and a multipurpose lawn. Greater Chennai Corporation will adopt Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)’s natural process of treating wastewater and use it for…

Media, political cadre and scores of citizens were present at the Villivakkam railway yard on Friday morning, as the special train from Jolarpettai, carrying 2.5 million litres of water chugged in. The fact that the water train, festooned with flowers, was welcomed by hordes of people, underlines the magnitude of water scarcity in Chennai and the desperation with which citizens are looking for solutions. The train is at the centre of focus also because this is the first time in the past 18 years that Chennai has transported water.  But how will a trainload of water quench the thirst of…

It's a pleasant dawn in early June; however, 52-year-old Zareena is fidgety and keeps checking the time. It's just 6.30 am. Before long, a teenage boy opens a gate and hordes of people make their way through it to the massive well at Easwari Nagar of Zamin Pallavaram. In a firm voice, Muthu, the caretaker of the well asks people to follow the queue according to their token number. Zareena’s number is sixteen, which means she has to wait for all the fifteen members to get their share of water. The tokens are distributed on lottery basis every Sunday, and…

The warning bells have been ringing at a high note for quite some time now. Chennai has just gone through the longest spell of rainless days, as a result of which water levels in our water bodies are at an all time low, causing a severe drought. However the government of the day seems to be in absolute denial of any water crisis in Chennai, nor do their actions indicate any move towards a sustainable and resilient Chennai. Arappor Iyakkam has come forward to highlight this issue through people’s participation in a unique protest called ‘KeluChennaiKelu’ on June 30 2019…