First brackish water treatment plant to come up near Swadeshi Mill Complex

The first brackish water treatment plant will come up near the OHT at Swadeshi Mill complex in Puducherry.

Along with measures to augment drinking water supply through rejuvenation of waterbodies and exploring additional sources such as desalination plants, the government has outlined a major initiative to improve the quality of water supplied in the town and suburban areas in Puducherry.

As announced in the current budget, the Public Works Department has started the process to set up brackish water treatment plants at places where the level of Total Dissolved Solids was found to be on the higher side.

The utility has now identified seven places for setting up treatment plants — near the overhead tank (OHT) at Swadeshi Mill, borewell at Botanical Garden, pumping stations at Dr. Abdul Kalam Nagar, Natesan Nagar, Brindavanam, Sithankandasamy Koil and PWD Headworks in Thirukanchi. These plants would be set up by availing around ₹30 crore loan from NABARD. 

The OHTs and pumping stations at the identified places are meant to supply piped water to people residing in constituencies of Raj Bhavan, Uppalam, Muthialpet, Kamaraj Nagar, Nellithope and parts of Mudaliarpet.

Minister for Public Works K Lakshminarayanan said the first brackish water treatment plant would be constructed near the OHT at Swadeshi Mill Complex soon. “The process has already started to set up the plant at Swadeshi Mill Complex,” he said.

“The work will start this month itself. People residing in Orleanpet constituency will start getting quality water very soon. Tests conducted by us on water supplied to the residential areas falling under the six constituencies have revealed that the TDS level was around 2,000. The brackish water treatment plant is based on reverse osmosis membrane filtration technology. The treatment of water could bring down the TDS level to 1000 and below,” said an official. 

The plant coming up at Swadeshi Mill Complex will be able to treat 10 lakh litres of water. The water sourced from the borewell would go directly to the treatment plant. After treatment, it would be let out to the sump and then to the OHT for supply to consumers, the official said.

Consultant for Desalination plant

The PWD is in the process of selecting a consultant to prepare a Detailed Project Report for setting up a Desalination Plant in Puducherry. Three firms have participated in the bids for selection of consultant for the project. The utility has identified places at Dubrayapet and Kalapet for setting up the plant, the official added.

Mr. Lakshminarayanan said the steps taken by the administration in recent days will yield considerable results in providing potable water and in augmenting drinking water supply, considering the future needs. The involvement of the public sector undertaking, WAPCOS, would help in the rejuvenation of system tanks, thereby leading to recharge of ground water.