Date:03/01/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/01/03/stories/2005010305300400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Water supply in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam to be restored soon

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, JAN. 2. Restoration of the public water supply systems in tsunami-hit areas of Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts will be completed in a week.

About 100 habitations in the two districts have been identified as the worst affected areas. In some places, electricity poles have been uprooted, as a result of which pumping of water has been disrupted. In some others, open or infiltration wells have been silted up while waterlines and motor equipment have been damaged. As per a conservative estimate, the cost of the damage is calculated as Rs. 10 crores, according to sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board, the agency in charge of the restoration of the public water supply system.

At present, water is supplied through lorries as a temporary measure and a number of stationary tanks made of high-density polyethylene have been installed. Every day, each tank is filled up twice or thrice, depending upon the requirement. The quality of water is tested before distribution.

As for Kanyakumari, the officials say the public water supply system has not been affected. However, the Board is doing everything to meet the requirements.

The combined water supply schemes such as the Vedaranyam project, which are in operation in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts, have come handy for the Board to meet the present demand. For the Vedaranyam scheme, water is drawn from the Coleroon river at Thirukarukavur in Thanjavur district.

Considering the urgency, the Board has entrusted works to different agencies on the basis of nomination and the execution of the works has also commenced. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has also begun the work of re-erecting the power poles which is facilitating the early resumption of normal water supply, say the officials.

Groundwater being tested

The TWAD Board has been undertaking the test of groundwater in the tsunami-hit areas. Contrary to fears expressed in certain quarters, the quality of groundwater is not affected as there is no salinity intrusion. What happened in some areas was the direct fall of seawater into infiltration or open wells. In such wells, flushing-out operations have been taken up, the officials say.

For expeditious completion of the restoration, the water agency has deployed all its senior technical personnel, starting from engineering director to chief engineers to down below, in the task of overseeing the operations. The engineers are functioning under the overall supervision of relief commissioners for the districts.

No damage

Officials in Chennai Metrowater say that an inspection of numerous deep borewells in and around Chennai, both in northern and southern fringes, revealed that no damage occurred to the wells. Initially, they feared that wells in Akkarai-Muttuakadu, forming part of southern coastal aquifer, might have been affected. But, to their relief, there was no damage.

Only for a few days, the reverse-osmosis desalination plant (having a capacity of 1.5 lakh litres a day) at Nochikuppam in front of the All India Radio station did not run as seawater entered into the well. Those in charge of the plant pumped out of water from the well and this operation went on for about 10 hours. After carrying out several tests, the plant began the production and distribution of water again on Thursday last. The officials have also confirmed that the Krishna water canal has not been affected.