After obtaining the mandatory CRZ clearance recently, Chennai Metrowater plans to start laying the pipeline to carry treated sewage from Sholinganallur sewage treatment plant to the canal
Work is set to begin next week to lay a pipeline near the Buckingham Canal to discharge treated wastewater following the recent Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. The project will enable the safe disposal of sewage treated in Sholinganallur sewage treatment plant (STP).
With projects being carried out to implement comprehensive sewerage schemes in merged areas of south Chennai, the project was an imperative to discharge treated sewage into the major waterway, according to Chennai Metrowater.
The CRZ clearance for the pipeline from the Sholinganallur STP, which can treat 36 million litres of sewage a day (MLD), was obtained as the alignment of the effluent pipeline largely falls into two different CRZ categories. After obtaining the recent mandatory clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the water agency plans to start work in a few days to lay the pipeline designed for a peak sewage flow of 81 MLD.
The Sholinganallur STP would receive and treat wastewater from 11 areas, including Kottivakkam, Uthandi, Sholinganallur, Injambakkam and Semmenchery, and release it into the Buckingham canal through the proposed pipeline.
The Ministry’s expert appraisal committee has recommended that Chennai Metrowater install a continuous effluent quality monitoring system at the discharge point and develop a comprehensive ecological management plan for the Buckingham Canal.
Residents noted that the environmental norms must be followed strictly to reduce sewage pollution in the canal. The ongoing works to cover the localities with an underground drainage network must also be completed before Northeast monsoon to facilitate the relaying of roads.
- Sathish, a resident of Semmenchery, said, “Work to clear vegetation in the canal is in progress. Samples must be collected regularly in the waterway and STP and compared for their quality. Treated water can be used for social forestry along the banks of the Buckingham Canal. Restoring the major waterway will help groundwater recharge and prevent seawater intrusion.”
Officials of the Metrowater said sewer lorries also decanted nearly 4 MLD of sewage in the Sholinganallur STP. While sewer connections are being provided in areas like Karapakkam and Sholinganallur, the work has recently been completed in Pallikaranai. Projects worth Rs. 813 crores are progressing in various other localities.
Various quality parameters for treated sewage would be tested before conveying to the canal. The work to lay the pipeline near the canal would be completed in two months, officials said.
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