WRD initiates talks with World Bank to roll out city’s Water Security Plan

As the next step towards making Chennai water- and climate-resilient through a Water Security Plan, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has initiated discussions with the World Bank to identify priority projects and finalise funding support. A preliminary meeting was held between WRD officials and World Bank representatives to discuss water conservation projects to bridge the widening gap between water demand and supply, and also build flood-resilient infrastructure. This follows the State government’s approval earlier this year of the comprehensive plan, which recommended nearly 704 projects worth ₹20,000 crore to decentralise water supply system in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) and mitigate the impact of climate change on water resources. With the goal of making Chennai water secure by 2047, the WRD aims at creating an additional storage capacity of 20.5 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) through various initiatives under the Chennai City Partnership Programme. Chennai Metrowater’s study had estimated that the freshwater demand in the city alone would rise to 22.52 tmcft by 2050. Officials of the WRD said they would soon begin preliminary works to execute 50-60 projects on priority over the next three or four years. Discussions are under way to implement the projects through public-private partnerships in a phased manner. To optimise water conservation, the department plans to enhance the storage capacity of nearly 110 tanks in Chennai and its surrounding districts, as well as major reservoirs, including Poondi. Additionally, it plans to build new storage structures and riverine reservoirs across various waterways, including Palar and Kosasthalaiyar rivers. “We are aiming for low-investment, high-impact conservation measures that can be implemented quickly without major hurdles. The check dams across the Palar, which are already overflowing, will be used to further enhance water conservation,” an official said. The department expects to harness at least six tmcft of water through priority projects worth ₹3,000 crore in the first phase. For instance, the waterbodies in Thiruninravur, Nemam, Thaiyur, Nandivaram-Guduvancherry, Pillaipakkam and Manamathi would be converted into reservoirs with improved storage capacity. Tail-end tanks of each chain of waterbodies will be chosen to conserve resources and reduce flooding. Local bodies in the CMA will also be involved in ensuring decentralised water supply infrastructure. Percolation ponds Besides creating groundwater recharge structures such as the recharge of Panchetti well fields, and percolation ponds in zones affected by seawater intrusion, including Minjur and Pazhaverkadu, projects to establish missing links between waterbodies and construct flood regulators in tanks are in the pipeline, officials added. The department is also simultaneously working in partnership with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to implement flood mitigation projects in the city’s core areas. Once the project proposals for the first phase are finalised, the department will approach the State government for approval.