Residents in some of Chennai’s core areas have started receiving information and posters through messaging platforms about an ongoing survey of drinking water services in city households. The exercise is intended to validate existing consumer data ahead of the installation of one lakh smart water meters.
Residents in some of Chennai’s core areas have started receiving information and posters through messaging platforms about an ongoing survey of drinking water services in city households. The exercise is intended to validate existing consumer data ahead of the installation of one lakh smart water meters.
In a move towards improving demand management, Chennai Metrowater has set the ball rolling on a project to fix smart water meters in one lakh water-intensive buildings, including commercial and high-rise residential buildings, across the city. The coverage would be expanded to domestic buildings based on the water meter policy 2022.
Metrowater has appointed JWIL Infra limited as a concessionaire to install the smart meters, operate and maintain the infrastructure for 10 years under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
The concessionaire is currently validating the consumer data provided by the water agency to assess the status of water services and the existing billing and collection systems.
Officials of Metrowater said while the preliminary works were started earlier this year, residents of some zones like Thiru.Vi.Ka.Nagar, Anna Nagar, Ambattur and Teynampet are being covered for the data validation exercise. About 50 persons have been engaged for the work.
“We disseminated information through messaging platforms to inform residents about the review of water services and seek cooperation. Field workers will verify the sites, adequacy of water supply and condition of water meters based on the consumers’ list provided,” said an official.
Residents of various zones, including Mylapore and Mandaveli, said they recently received posters on their mobile phones. C.R.Balaji, a resident of Mandaveli, said smart water meters would help in preventing wastage particularly in commercial buildings. Many residential buildings still have analog meters. Water pressure in piped network also varied across areas. Households in some streets relied on borewells to bridge gaps in piped water supply.
Residents wanted the water supply to be improved along with fixing of smart water meters. Officials of the Metrowater noted that the concessionaire would also be required to create awareness about the metering system as part of the Rs. 392.59 crore project.
Of the one lakh buildings, 73,608 buildings are in core areas and the remaining in merged areas. The validation process is expected to be completed by September-end, they added.
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