WRD holds talks with World Bankon ₹5,000-cr. water security projects

The Water Resources Department (WRD) held talks with the World Bank representatives on Wednesday over its proposal to implement the Integrated Water Security project for the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) at an estimated loan assistance of ₹5,000 crore.

The projects, which aim to improve CMA’s resilience to droughts and floods, are expected to be submitted for the State government’s approval once the feasibility of the projects are finalised.

In a discussion held with the team of World Bank representatives, the WRD presented about 40 projects to ensure long-term water security of the CMA. While the Department has chalked out nearly 1,064 projects across the major river basins, it plans to prioritise some projects that can be implemented at a relatively low cost.

The team from World Bank that included David Lord, Lead Water Specialist; Mathews Mullackal, Senior Water Specialist, and Somya Sethuraman, consultant, discussed the projects proposed under three components — water conservation and storage, strengthening institutional and governance, and enhancing local water use efficiency. The World Bank is ready to fund the projects.

The WRD has estimated that the water demand in CMA is projected to reach 3,700 million litres a day (mld) by 2050. WRD’s Chief Engineer, Chennai region, C. Podupani Thilagam, who chaired the meeting, said, “We discussed means to conserve resources and also reduce floods through implementing ‘low-hanging fruit’ projects in the next five years. Real-time monitoring of the water bodies through SCADA systems was also discussed.”

One of the major projects pitched during the meeting is augmenting the storage capacity of Poondi reservoir, the prime water body that stores Krishna water, at a cost of ₹619 crore. Its storage is proposed to be increased by 700 million cubic feet to reduce surplus water released into Kosasthalaiyar river during every monsoon.

The long-pending proposal of converting Thirunindravur lake into a drinking water source for Avadi Municipal Corporation has also been prioritised. Spread over 349 hectares, the lake has remained silted up for many years. The Department plans to restore and increase the storage of the lake to 500 mcft at a cost of ₹105 crores.

Comprehensive improvement of the canals feeding the five major drinking water reservoirs at a cost of ₹155 crore was also discussed. Though the waterways, including the Kandaleru Poondi canal, are repaired, only vulnerable portions are being restored, said Mr. Thilagam. The team also visited various locations related to the projects, including Chembarambakkam reservoir, discussed during the meeting.