T
Nagar bus stand is one of the congested places of Chennai … as you wind
further, you would go through Madeley road subway towards West Mambalam /
Mettupalayam / Saidapet …. Chennai
[aka Madras] has had perennial water problems – in late 1970s and at the start
of the century, there were acute shortages.
Water, a politically sensitive commodity and there are many areas [be it
upmarket too] where water is scarce – residents buy lorry loads of water for
all their needs. People used to run
after metro water lorries in dead of night carrying plastic pots of varied hues
and colours. If the rush has mellowed
down, it is not because of supply exceeding demand, but due to the fact that
most people now buy ‘packaged drinking water’ for their needs.
The earlier days
were different – subjects were initially dependent on shallow wells and later
on Municipal water taps – people trying hard on hand-pumps was common at every
house and at every streets. That water in the tap came from local pumping
stations and primarily from the Kilpauk water works. Kilpauk Water Works holds several
historical monuments and systems that were in use till about half decade
ago. Inaugurated a century back, Kilpauk Water Works was the first treatment
plant for the city with 80 million litres a day capacity then. It was increased
to the existing 270 mld capacity in phases. The massive 60ft steel tank at the
entrance was as old as the red-bricked
buildings in the premises. A
high-tension pump installed so many
decades ago, ran tirelessly to
distribute treated water to the residents.
When rain fails,
the ground water level too goes
down. Thankfully, in Triplicane with the
full-fledged implementation of rainwater
harvesting in all houses coupled with water in the streets getting collected at
the temple tank, the water table as also the quality of water has
improved. The Chennai Metropolitan
Water Supply and Sewerage Board ( Metro Water) used to supply water daily and
in alternate days in times of scarcity. There have been plans to bail out the water
droughts including bringing water from nearby lakes and rivers. Desalination, as touted by the earlier
Finance Minister never took off. Desalinating
water is costly, and involves advanced technology, so private-sector
participation in Chennai was critical and Metro Water is not exactly in the pink of
financial health.
Water shortage
returns to Chennai following every poor monsoon. Till about the middle of 19th century Chennai
received water from local shallow wells and tanks. Mr.Fraser, a civil engineer
forwarded a proposal to the government to tap the Kortalayar river which is
situated about 160 km north west of chennai and it was accepted. Years later the supply channel delivered
water by gravity into a masonry shaft at Kilpauk from which the cast iron mains
of the City branched off and a scientifically designed water supply
Distribution System was established. The
man incharge was British Engineer J.W. Madeley. That was the first major milestone towards
protected water supply using of filtration and pumping was achieved during the
year 1914.
So, it was exactly a hundred years ago [17th
Dec 2014] , a scientifically-designed water distribution system was launched by
Corporation of Madras. The system and many of the old
pipelines and structures are still in use. Hidden in the midst of the sprawling
campus of Kilpauk Water Works on New Avadi Road is a nearly 150-year-old shaft
that stands as a testimony to the evolution of Chennai’s water supply system
over the years. The bowl-like masonry structure, recently refurbished, is one
of the first systems ever used to store water from the Red Hills reservoir and
supply to the city as far back as in 1872. Once it was filled to the brim,
water would branch off through vents on either side and then be transported to
George Town and central Chennai through iron pipes. This scientifically-designed distribution
system was launched by the then special engineer to
the Corporation of Madras, J.W. Madeley.
According to the
report in The Hindu today, Metrowater officials who maintain the plant point
out that a 100-year-old pipeline still transports treated water to various
parts of the city. “Several pipelines laid then are used to pump water to areas
as far as Triplicane and George Town even today,” the official says. Several
buildings, a new storage tank and a compound wall have come up during the
course of years. But they have been constructed to resemble the heritage
buildings, adding more charm to the magnificent campus.
The Madeley
Road at Mambalam was named after this British engineer J.W. Madeley who revolutionised the concept of an organised
drinking water system in the city before he returned home in 1932.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
17th
Dec 2014
News inputs taken from The Hindu; photo
credits : http://sewerhistory.org/
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