Metrowater plans to make use of its community of quarries at Sikkarayapuram and Erumaiyur downstream of Chembarambakkam reservoir in case of a poor Northeast monsoon.
| Photograph Credit score: VELANKANNI RAJ B
A crew of researchers, together with these from IIT Madras, is exploring the potential of deserted quarries in Chennai’s southern fringes to enhance water sources.
Deserted quarries kind a vital part of Chennai’s drought contingency plan.
Chennai Metrowater, which maintains a community of quarries as buffer sources at Sikkarayapuram and Erumaiyur downstream of Chembarambakkam reservoir, plans to make use of them within the occasion of a poor Northeast monsoon.
Within the wake of declining storage within the metropolis’s main reservoirs, renewed focus has been positioned on deserted quarries as various water sources.
The crew — led by Elango Lakshmanan, visiting school, Hydraulics and Water Sources Engineering Group, Division of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras — has launched a research to evaluate the potential of almost 25 deserted quarries within the southern fringes resembling Tambaram, Vandalur, Nallambakkam, Tiruneermalai, Unamancheri, and Keerapakkam.
The undertaking, funded by the Union Ministry of Science and Know-how, goals at creating an economical community of different sources.
Mr. Lakshmanan mentioned the research focuses on assessing the storage capability, water high quality, and the feasibility of linking the quarries to the closest water provide community and even for metropolis water distribution. Constructing on the success of the Sikkarayapuram quarries, the research is in progress to faucet potential for extra quarries.
He mentioned the quarries, which have a smaller water unfold space than the 15-sq.km. Chembarambakkam reservoir, should be crammed first to cut back important evaporation loss. Whereas the reservoir is vulnerable to larger evaporation, quarries with an space of 0.3 sq.km to 0.5 sq.km might restrict evaporation losses to 10%-20%. Water from the reservoir should be provided within the months instantly after the Northeast monsoon, and later shifted to quarries to optimise water sources as really useful to the Water Sources Division, he mentioned.
In the meantime, Chennai has began receiving an elevated Krishna water influx of almost 312 cubic toes per second after a current go to by Metrowater and WRD officers to Andhra Pradesh.
The Metrowater officers mentioned Krishna water influx was anticipated to regularly enhance to 500 cusecs in just a few days and assist preserve the storage of metropolis reservoirs, which now stands at almost 47%.
Although the Sikkarayapuram and Erumaiyur quarries, with a mixed storage capability of 0.7 thousand million cubic toes, are almost 75% full, Metrowater plans to attract water from them provided that the Chembarambakkam reservoir runs dry or the Northeast monsoon fails.
The out there storage can provide about 30 million litres a day from Sikkarayapuram for almost a 12 months and one other 10 mld from Erumaiyur quarries for 425 days.
On the proposal to community the cluster of 25 Sikkarayapuram quarries to kind a single storage construction to spice up capability, sources mentioned the proposal awaits authorities nod.
Revealed – July 17, 2026 12:49 am IST
