Indian city brings Nemmelie desalination plant online

The city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has brought its second desalination plant online, which has been built in the village of Nemmeli, to address the water shortage in the region.

The plant is set up along East Coast Road, at Nemmeli, about 36km south of Chennai, reported The Hindu.

The Nemmelie desalination facility is expected to have a capacity of treating 100 million litres of water a day.

In the first phase, the plant will treat 50 million litres of water a day, which will be gradually increased to meet the growing demand for potable water.

Using reverse osmosis technology the plant treat 265 million litres of seawater a day, which will be transported to the plant using 1,000m long pipelines.

One the water is treated, the brine will be released back into the sea via a 650m long pipeline.

VA Tech Wabag in consortium with Israel-based IDE Technologies constructed the plant for a cost of about INR8.7bn ($161m), under a contract from Chennai Metro Water.

Larsen & Toubro was selected for the installation of 64.3km long water pipeline from the plant and construction of underground sumps enroute.

The Nemmelie facility is expected to provide clean and safe drinkable water to about 1.5 million people residing in Southern Chennai, Velachery, Palipattu, Tiruvanmiyur and IT corridor.

Under the project, water will be supplied through the pumping stations at Nemmeli, Akarai, Tiruvanmiyur, and Velachery.

Chennai Metro Water has awarded the maintenance and operation contract of the plant to VA Tech Wabag for seven years, at a cost of INR700m ($13m) per year.

Nemmelie facility has been commissioned at a time when the four major water reservoirs that provide drinking water to the city, are fast drying up.

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Image: The Nemmelie desalination plant will provide potable water to the residents of Chennai, at a time when its major water reservoirs are fast drying up. Photo: Courtesy of Free Digital Photos.