Corporation officials find inadequate chlorination in samples of drinking water in

76 places
Residents of few areas across the city have complained of inadequate piped water supply and low
pressure in drinking water pipelines.
Moreover, a team of officials of the Chennai Corporation on Wednesday tested the samples of
drinking water supplied in 2,503 locations for chlorine levels. It was found that there was not
adequate chlorination in 76 places.
Residents of Mogappair West and East said several streets in the tail-end areas have not been
receiving sufficient volume of drinking water for the past few days. There were also complaints
of less chlorination in the water. Residents of parts of Anna Nagar West also complained of water
contamination.
“Some of us have to draw water from hand pumps for an hour as we don't get enough water in
our sumps. We are buying water from private tankers to fill the gap,” said Padma. R, a resident of
Mogappair East.
Those living in Gandhi Nagar and Indira Nagar are also experiencing similar problems for the
past one week. While several streets are not receiving proper piped supply, some households have
stopped getting drinking water for the past three days in Gandhi Nagar.
A resident of Gandhi Nagar said that they are forced to pay Rs.1,300 to get a 12 kilolitre load of
water from private tanker operators. “We otherwise have to wait for two days for Metrowater
tankers that also operate on payment,” said the resident.
Sources in the Chennai Metrowater said that in some areas, they were unable to supply water on
the scheduled time with adequate pressure in the pipeline, particularly to those in the tail-end
pockets owing to power fluctuation.
Though there were generator sets, it took about 10-15 minutes to switch to generators.
Only 60-70 per cent of total quantum of water to be supplied from distribution stations could be
pumped into the pipeline during power cuts.
Those areas in the tail-end pocket of Mogappair would get equitable supply once the scheme to
provide connections to Ambattur is completed by the year-end.
The water agency would check more samples to ensure that the water provided is chlorinated
properly.
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