CHENNAI: Every resident in T Nagar is losing 48 litres of water every day to pipeline leakages, a study by Tamil Nadu Water Investment Corporation (TWIC) has found. The report was submitted to Metrowater as part of the smart city mission’s 24x7 water supply project.The study, conducted in 2018, says each resident receives about 95 litres of water a day during monsoon and winter (supply is adjusted depending on availability during summer; figures in the report are from monsoon and winter months). Out of the 19 MLD water supplied to the locality, 22% is lost in leakages. Officials said this was around 48 litres per head and if supplied in full, it will match the quantity of water prescribed by World Health Organization.Leakages were identified at 20 locations including in areas such as Umapathy Street, CIT Nagar First Cross Street, Second Main Road, Vivekananda Street and Bharathi Nagar.Most leakages were found in the distribution system as the cast iron pipes laid more than 30 years ago have been damaged. Many of the joints leak due to weight of vehicles and water pressure, said a Metrowater engineer.According to norms, each resident is supposed to get 132 litres a day, which was arrived at after considering the amount of water used in toilets and for other purposes apart from drinking. But a resident in T Nagar gets 95 litres a day.However, superintendent engineer, Samleelal Jhonson, said there were no leakages.“The water distributed is not accounted for and is shown as non-revenue water. There is no leakage,” he claimed.But other engineers, requesting anonymity, said a 24x7 water supply project at an estimated`75 crore was proposed to plug these leakages and increase the pressure of water supply. “Supply is not uniform as some areas receive more water and for longer duration. Some areas are starved due to lack of pressure. Contamination is an issue that needs to be addressed because the pipelines receive water every alternate day. If water is supplied 24x7, all these issues will be resolved,” said an engineer.Under this project, the 159km of pipelines will be expanded to make water available in areas served by tankers. Nearly 24km of pipelines will be laid and existing 23km will be repaired.A retired Public Works Department official told TOI that if the loss was calculated for all areas in Greater Chennai Corporation, about 33 crore litres of water is lost after assuming the population as 70 lakh. “It is not just about the old pipelines. Norms are not followed while laying new pipelines which leads to frequent damages and repairs. There is no supervision while laying pipelines. The debris is dumped on the pipeline which damages it,” he said.V S Jayaraman, a civic activist from T Nagar, said Metrowater should come up with an answer till the 24/7 project is operational. “The project will take two years. What will officials do for the next two years? Continue to lose water when we are staring at a drought?”

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