The Corporation’s pilot project to supply round-the-clock drinking water to six wards is expected to be commissioned within the next two months.

The city, spread over 108 sq. km, has a population of 6.45 lakh across four zones. It has 1,69,913 households and 27,386 commercial establishments. At present, 83 million litres per day (MLD) of water is supplied to households and commercial establishments through the Dedicated Water Supply Scheme.

While a few wards receive water once in two days, supply remains irregular in many parts of the city. To ensure equitable drinking water distribution, the State government in 2022 directed all urban local bodies to implement 24x7 water supply on a pilot basis in select wards and study its feasibility before expanding the scheme.

The corporation selected Wards 30, 49, 50, 56, 57 and 58 for the pilot project and appointed a private project management consultant to prepare a detailed project report (DPR). Based on the DPR, a Chennai-based firm was engaged to assess and execute the project.

The project is being implemented under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, with assistance from the World Bank-supported Tamil Nadu Resilient Urban Development Programme (TNCRUDP), at ₹21.93 crore.

The six wards are served by 10 overhead tanks. As part of the project, the existing water distribution system has been strengthened and pipeline-laying and rehabilitation works have been completed.

A senior Corporation engineer told The Hindu that work on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which will enable effective monitoring and control of water distribution, is under way and is expected to be completed in about a month.

Following completion of the remaining works, a trial run will be conducted, defects, if any, will be rectified, and the scheme will be commissioned. The official said that the pilot project would also help the Corporation undertake a detailed assessment before extending round-the-clock water supply to the remaining 54 wards in the city.