RO membranes in Nemmeli desal plant to be replaced

CHENNAI: To improve the water quality produced in Nemmeli desalination plant, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metrowater) has started replacing RO (Reverse Osmosis) membranes.

A Metrowater statement said that there are 7,056 RO Membranes in the desalination plant to convert seawater into potable water. "The RO membranes have been imported from the USA. The lifetime of the membranes is five years. Presently, works have been commenced to replace 936 RO membranes. Of the total membranes taken up for the replacement, 360 are already replaced. Remaining will be replaced before September. RO membranes should be replaced every five years to maintain the quality of water, " the release said.

Water from the desalination plant is being supplied to areas such as Velachery, Pallipattu, Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Sholinganallur, Injambakkam, Karapakkam, Semmenchery, Thoraipakkam, Perungudi, Taramani, Adyar, Besant Nagar, Nandanam, MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalaipuram, Pallikaranai, Puzhuthivakkam, Madipakkam and Mylapore.

The desalination plant with a capacity of 110 million liters per day was constructed at Rs 1,070 crore.