Chennai: Every morning for the past few days, families in parts of Perungudi have turned on their taps only to find water mixed with sewage. Across four neighbourhoods, at least 2,000 families have been dealing with contamination, but despite repeated complaints, Metrowater has not fixed the problem.
Residents say they are spending thousands of rupees on private tankers and cleaning sumps, pipelines, and overhead tanks. “We have been getting water mixed with sewage for the past few days,” said P Sajeevan of Kamaraj Nagar. During stormwater drain construction in their neighbourhood, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) damaged Metrowater pipes supplying households, allowing sewage from the drains to enter the water pipes, he added.
Sajeevan added that their association spent nearly 10,000 to clean two overhead tanks contaminated with sewage, including faecal sludge. “Our pipes and sumps are damaged too,” he said. “Even if we get fresh water in the future, the idea of sewage being present in the tank is disturbing.”
Metrowater assistant engineer (ward 184) Krishnan said the pipes were damaged during construction work. “We are opening the drains and identifying the damaged locations,” he said. “We restored fresh water to three neighbourhoods. By Sunday, all the lines will be cleared.” He added that an E. coli test and chlorine flush would be conducted in all affected pipes. Residents could expect increased chlorine levels in their water for the next few days to eliminate any bacteria, he said.
Residents, however, said that despite promises of clean water, pipes remain contaminated. K Rishi, another resident, said his tap water had been black since Monday. “There’s a bad odour in the tanks and sumps despite cleaning. Metrowater should check the water quality directly from household taps,” he added.