CHENNAI: The city may have enough drinking water stored in its reservoirs, but residents in different parts of the metropolis are concerned at the dwindling amount of water supplied in the past week.

Residents in T. Nagar, Purasawalkam, Villivakkam and Perambur feel they are not getting as much water as they did say last month. Though the drop is minimal, they fear that with the onset of summer, it may turn out to be a bigger problem.

G. Premanand of Purasawalkam says though the water supply has been regular, there is slight decrease in the supply time.

Cut in time

This went unnoticed as the supply time was cut by only15 to 30 minutes.

Residents of Subramaniam Street at Purasawalkam say the supply through public fountains, which was available for almost 24 hours, has been restricted to evening hours. A similar situation prevails in several other streets in the Purasawalkam Tank area.

A resident of Sivasailam Street at T. Nagar says the supply time is being reduced slowly without much impact on the amount of water supplied.

Residents of Villivakkam, who face similar problems, warn that further reduction in supply time will lead to decline in quantity. Several residents also complain of coloured water supply for several days now. S. Boopathy of Villivakkam laments that the muddy water has to be filtered twice before it can be drunk.

Residents of Agathiyar Nagar in Villivakkam complain that the supply was sporadic at times during the past few weeks.

Those living on Perambur High Road also complain about coloured water. According to G. Paranjyothi of Perambur, the water received through the pipe has been rusty for several days. He says 40-year-old pipeline was changed two years ago. But, the water quality has not undergone much change.

Metrowater officials say the present amount of water supplied — 640 million litres a day — will be sustained until the northeast monsoon.

Denying reduction in supply timing, an official says the supply time is maintained at the same rate and varies according to the population and demand. As demand for water goes up during summer and more residents start drawing more water, this could reduce the timing.

Water tested

Regarding water quality, he says about 150 water samples from different areas are tested everyday. However, there may be specific cases of coloured water that will be looked into.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail