Summer is yet to fully kick in but there is already a rise in demand for tankers, as several parts of the city are experiencing a dip in piped water supply.
The city continues to get a supply of 550 million litres on alternate days. The proportion of water supply through tankers has, however, marginally increased compared to last month, officials said. At present, about 6,450 tanker trips are being operated daily, which is nearly 100 trips more than in January. Of this, nearly 2,500 trips are being plied on a payment basis.
Southern parts hit
Residents, especially in south Chennai, are feeling the pinch. They noted that it took between seven and 10 days for tanker supply booked on a payment basis to arrive. S. Kumararaja, a resident of Velachery, said piped water supply had dipped to once in three days. Many are managing with borewells, and groundwater too is fast depleting. Residents of Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, said some parts had stopped receiving piped water supply and illegal water trips were being carried out. Some residents have started creating infrastructure to store more water.
V.S. Jayaraman, a resident of T. Nagar, said, “We get water through pipeline once in two or three days at our apartment complex and the volume has reduced. We use groundwater sparingly and depend on mobile water supply. It is difficult to book six-kilolitre capacity tankers and we need two or three tanker trips per week. We are now constructing a sump of larger capacity for tanker water.” Sources at Metrowater said parts of the city may experience shortage depending on the source from where it is distributed. Though Metrowater has decided on buffer sources to meet the summer demand, it is yet to start putting them for use.
The city reservoirs continue to remain one of the key sources, thanks to Krishna water supply from Andhra Pradesh from early this month. This has helped maintain the storage at the same level, according to officials of the Water Resources Department. Meanwhile, Metrowater has tested the water drawal process from abandoned quarries in Sikkarayapuram near Mangadu. It plans to draw water from quarries by this week-end and link it to Chembarambakkam treatment plant.