Metrowater eyes construction industry to sell treated water in Chennai

"We are in talks with a major real estate body so that they can use treated water for construction instead of using ground water. We have also asked them to give an estimated requirement for the industry," a Metrowater official said.

The official clarified that the TTRO water will not be supplied free of cost but assured that the price will be lowered than private lorry water.

Currently, Metrowater runs two TTRO plants in Koyambedu and Kodungaiyur with a treating capacity of 45 million litres per day each.

"Tertiary treated water is drinkable but we cannot cater to drinking purpose due to stigma. The quality of the water is on par with the RO water that people buy in bubble top cans," another senior official said.

He added that only three firms, including CPCL, are procuring tertiary treated water for industrial usage. Some firms in SIPCOT near Poonnamallee procure TTRO water but they use the water only after treating again at their facilities.

Due to the lack of demand, the TTRO plants are functioning at reduced capacity. The production is only half the total capacity.

On the other hand, the industry also expresses open-mindedness towards the treated water. "Most of the construction sites are using groundwater. At the areas, where the quality of groundwater is bad, lorry water from private players is procured and stored in sumps. In areas like OMR, available groundwater might be worse when compared with treated water. In such areas, treated water is a better option," S Rama Prabhu of Builders' Association of India said.

However, he requested the Metrowater to give quality assurance by getting water quality tests from reputed institutions.

"Metrowater should supply treated water for government constructions so that people and builders come forward to use," he opined.

Apart from TTRO water, the Metrowater supplies secondary treated water to Chennai Corporation for watering parks and centre medians.