Pristine Cooum: Chennai Metro Water board identifies 23 places to setup sewage pumping stations

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has identified 23 places to set up pumping stations where sewage is let into the Cooum at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore as part of the restoration project.

This system will prevent untreated sewage from flowing into the water body from the residential and commercial buildings in the city. The pumping stations will be constructed with a capacity of 1 to 2 MLD capacity.

In March 2023, the minister for Municipal Administration announced during the Legislative Assembly that the Metro Water Board will take over the work to plug 23 numbers of sewage outfalls at various locations into the Cooum at a total cost of Rs 50 crore under Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust Funding.

Metro Water has already started plugging sewage outfall in the water in various locations. However, as the work cannot be carried out with the funds of the integrated Cooum River eco-restoration project, a revised proposal was sent for additional funds by the Metro Water Board. After an analysis, the state government approved an estimated fund of Rs 50 crore for the project.”The project aims at stopping untreated sewage let into city waterways. After completion of the sewage outfall, it would prevent untreated sewage from the residential and commercial buildings from getting mixed in the water bodies. In addition, the department is in progress installing sewage treatment plants also in the rivers, “ said a senior official with CMWSSB.

Restoration work, such as desilting, bund strengthening and compound wall construction, has been completed by the Water Resources Department. The onus is now on the Metro Water to prevent untreated sewage from being let into the river.