WATER – BACKGROUND
Out of all of India’s metropolitan areas, Chennai has the lowest per capita water availability.[i] With no perennial rivers, Chennai’s reservoirs are dependent on monsoon rainfall and intrastate water diversion that in the past have proven unreliable. As a result, extracting ground water is common practice for both individual households and the city’s principal water supply agency, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), often referred to as MetroWater. But groundwater is itself problematic because it too, is the product of rainfall and only 8% of total rainfall recharges groundwater aquifers.[ii] As Chennai exploits groundwater from increasing distances, it is worrisome to consider the impact on sustainability.
According to the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD), the 2012 norms established for urban water supply schemes are as follows:
Table 1.
Urban body |
Water norm in litres per capita per day (lpcd) |
| Corporation | 135 lpcd |
| Municipalities | |
|
135 lpcd |
|
90 lpcd |
|
110 lpcd |
| Town Panchayats | |
|
90 lpcd |
|
70 lpcd |
|
90 lpcd |
| Urban Towns/cities posed for GOI funding under UIDSSMT/ JnNURM | 135 lpcd |
*TWAD website: http://www.twadboard.com/
Unfortunately, publicly available government figures about water supply are often simply projections, policies, or norms. Very little data is made available to understand the reality of water supply and project implementation.
Drought
Realistically, the amount of water received is lower than the set norms particularly in times of drought. For example, in 1999-2000 the official supply of water was 110 lpcd but during the drought, CMWSSB could maintain piped water supply for only 70% of the population, at a rate of 55-60 lpcd.[iii]
In the 2003-2004 drought, the CMWSSB’s reservoirs went completely dry and emergency “mobile supply”, water delivered in tanker trunks, could only provide households with an average of 20 lpcd that was collected in individual pots. This was less than 1/3 the total water used in the city during this time. According to household surveys, more than 2/3rds of households supplied additional water from private wells. Over 6% purchased additional private tanked water and 35% used bottled water.[iv]Between July 2003 and April 2004, CMWSSB was able to provide less than 200 million litres per day (MLD). Then, in a drastic change, 2005 had the highest recorded rainfall and CMWSSB was able to provide over 650 MLD between October and December.[v]
Because the monsoon is not guaranteed and because 65% of rainfall is lost to surface run-off and evaporation, the CMWSSB has implemented a rainwater harvesting campaign. The TWAD claims that, at least in theory, rainwater catchment can make the city of Chennai self-sufficient for water supply (at 125 lpcd).[vi] The city has issued rules and regulations mandating new buildings have a proposal for rainwater harvesting (RWH) prior to receiving a license from the Corporation. The idea of RWH is well-promoted but there is no data on how many households within the city are actually self-implementing the necessary pipes and percolation pits. According to an official at TWAD, there is no government funding available to help individual households subsidize the necessary infrastructure. The official also noted that the RWH has helped recharge ground water but the direct catchment of water for self-sufficiency has not proven very successful. According to MetroWater, since the installation of RWH structures in 5 lakhs households in 2004, water levels have risen 50% from 3 to 6 metres.[vii]
Unequal Distribution
Per capita water supply is also unequally distributed throughout the Corporation. One area located in the southern part of the city, K.K. Nagar, received 182 lpcd from CMWSSB while Korukkupet and Seven Wells in the poorer north received only 55 lpcd.[viii] MetroWater officials claim that this is difference is the result of unequal population distribution in the city. K.K. Nagar and Vyasarpadi both receive about the same amount of water. K.K. Nagar receives 26 million litres per day (MLD) and Vyasarpadi recently received an increase in its supply from 22 MLD to 27 MLD. But with 4 lakh people in Vyasarpadi and only 2 lakh in K.K. Nagar, it is no wonder there is such difference in the lpcd of each zone. Why isn’t the CMWSSB supplying water in a way that is proportional to population? With what criteria is it (actively or passively) discriminating against certain neighborhoods?
Furthermore, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) estimates that Chennai’s rehabilitated slum-dwellers receive an average of 25-30 lpcd. This is a frighteningly low number when we consider that the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) claims that the minimum level of potable drinking water is 40 lpcd or that, even more outrageously, the Master Plan of Delhi (2001) recommends water supply of 265 lpcd![ix] If rehabilitated slum-dwellers are receiving only 25-30 lpcd, what are slum-dwellers, particularly those in undeclared (not officially recognized) slums receiving?
CMWSSB water supply only accounts for a fraction of total water supplied in the Corporation. Therefore, unequal water supply distribution is largely the product of unequal financial access to private infrastructure (handpumps, yard taps, sumps, etc) and alternative private water supply (private open or bore wells, private tanker delivery, or purchase of mineral water). In one study, during a dry period, consumers with deep private bore wells consumed 50% more water than those without. During a wet period, consumers with private manual connections (handpumps that connect to MetroWater) consumed about 60% more water than unconnected consumers. Consumers with a sump consumed 50% more water than consumers lacking sumps.[x]
Although from relatively old 1996 data, the chart below shows how wealthier households receive more water per day even while they still rely on a combination of CMWSSB water and ground water.
*from P.B. Anand 2001[xi]
How Chennaiites get their Water—or don’t
Even as the CMWSSB searches for new technologies to meet the water supply-demand gap, the question remains: will it ever be enough? Currently the CMWSSB’s reservoirs, ground aquifers, desalination plant, and emergency purchase from local farmers work to meet the Corporation’s total water demand. (For more information on sources of water, please see the section “In-depth research” here.) But these CMWSSB sources are clearly not enough. According to some estimates, 60% of the water that Chennai’s public uses come from sources other than the CMWSSB.
In Chennai Corporation, there are multiple ways to get MetroWater’s public water supply such that almost all households have at least some access. These access points include private piped connections, handpumps and taps, public standpipes, or CMWSSB “mobile supply” tankers that deliver water to a distribution point. The CMWSSB’s total annual supply (as of June 2011) is 787.65 million litres (ML). Of this the city supply through pipeline is 694.36 ML and the city supply through lorry is 16.62 ML. Industrial supply amounts to 25.60 ML and bulk consumers/municipal supply amount to 51.07 ML.[xii]
According to a 2002 report, between 65-85% of Chennai’s domestic consumers have their own water source (bore well or open dug well) and only 2% use water from CMWSSB for all purposes. 7% of households purchase mineral water and 26% use the water tankers of the CMWSSB. For non-domestic consumers, 82% are connected to a CMWSSB supply but 75% rely on their own source that is usually a bore well. People who do not have a private connection use public taps (56%) or tanks (44%). Of these people 63% find that the public supply is insufficient.[xiii]
Average water obtained from utility (CMWSSB) and non-utility sources: Between 1/3 and 2/3rds of water supply come from non-CMWSSB sources
*from Veena Srinivasan, 2008.
In informal discussions with domestic consumers, it seems that households separate their water consumption into potable and non-potable categories. They use MetroWater for potable needs (drinking, cooking, dishwashing) and private wells for non-potable needs (bathing, cleaning). According to one researcher, Veena Srinivasan, over 2/3rds of households have their own private wells and an estimated 40% of households use private bore wells to supplement their drinking water. She argues that in Chennai, because sewage connections exceed private water connections, there are quite a few households that must rely on private bore wells. [xiv]
Types of Consumers
Srinivasan argues that there are different types of residential MetroWater consumers that can be grouped into four categories:
Table 2.
Category of Residential Water Consumer |
Average Household Income (2005)
|
Description |
| Unconnected (15%) | Rs 1,500/month | No private in-house connections. No indoor plumbing. Use MetroWater mobile supply, public standpipes, community wells. |
| Manual (20%) | Rs 3,500/month | Private in-house handpumps or yardtaps that connect to Metrowater supply. Lack indoor plumbing. May also have open wells or community wells. |
| Manual with bore well (35%) | Rs 7,500/month | Same as above but have made investments in indoor plumbing and bore wells. Bore well water used for non-potable needs. |
| Sump (30%) | Rs 12,500/month | “Full-service” piped MetroWater. Most will also have bore well and sumps so they can buy and store private water. |
*based on 2006 household survey data (Veena Srinivasan, 2008)
*based on 2001 Housing Census data (report from Veena Srinivasan, 2008)
What about the Rest of the Chennai Metropolitan Area?
In addition to environmental problems like infrequent monsoon and falling water tables, the water situation in Chennai is stressed by population growth and with it, increased commercial and industrial sectors particularly in the city’s periphery. While the population growth rate of Chennai Corporation has actually slowed in recent years (while remaining positive), it has grown significantly in the Corporation’s surrounding suburbs.[xv] The suburbs, including municipalities, town and village panchayats, have a variety of local supply schemes supported (namely systems design and implementation) through the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD). These suburbs are mainly dependent on groundwater, much of which comes from private wells. The amount of public water they are scheduled to receive varies according to their administrative category (see table 1 above) and feasibility as determined by the TWAD’s Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are each responsible for their jurisdiction’s water supply and distribution. In recent years, various ULBs close to the Corporation of Chennai have entered into contractual agreements to purchase bulk water supply from the CMWSSB. 
These ULBs also pay CMWSSB for physical capital investments including pipeline systems, overhead tanks, sumps, underground sewerage systems, water pumping station, and water distribution stations.
However, aside from the design, implementation, or bulk water services of TWAD or the CMWSSB, the ULB is still ultimately responsible for local operations and maintenance, household and commercial connections. This is despite the fact that the under clause 42 of the Tamil Nadu Act 28 (1978), the CMWSSB is responsible for “the provision of sufficient supply of drinking water for consumption by the inhabitants of the Chennai Metropolitan Area”.[xvi]
Open dug wells or bore wells are critical to meeting the water supply-demand gap. Unfortunately, when asked, TWAD and MetroWater did not have any estimates as to how many households rely on these sources and how much water is actually provided by them. ULBs also do not seem to have clear information. Valasaravakkam, for example, did not collect this information. Alandur claims that there are 28 open wells. Given the aforementioned 2002 report that claims 65-85% of Corporation households use an open or bore well, Alandur’s figure of 28 seems to be an underestimate that may not count individual household wells. It is likely that smaller administrative units, like town and village panchayats, also have not collected information on this.
For more information on the water supply arrangements between CMWSSB and ULBs that are part of the Chennai Corporation’s planned expansion, please see the section “In-depth research” here.
[i] Asian Development Bank, 2007.
[ii] http://www.chennaimetrowater.tn.nic.in/departments/rwh/whatwhy.htm
[iii] Joel Ruet, V.S. Saravanan, and Marie-Helene Zerah. “The Water & Sanitation Scenario in India Metropolitan Cities” CSH Occasional Paper. French Research Institutes in India: 2002, v.6, p.57.
[iv] Veena Srinivasan. “An Integrated Framework for Analysis of Water Supply Strategies in a Developing City: Chennai, India”. Veena Srinivasan: 2008, p.4.
[v] Ibid, p.120.
[vi] http://www.aboutrainwaterharvesting.com/rwh.htm
[v] http://www.hindu.com/pp/2009/01/31/stories/2009013150010100.htm
[viii] Lakshmi, K. “MetroWater increases supply to north Chennai”, The Hindu. June 12, 2011. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article2096856.ece
[ix] Laveesh Bhandari & Aarti Khare, “Poor Provision of Household Water: Environmental Impact & Private Response”, Indicus Analytics.
[x] Veena Srinivasan, 2008, p. 140
[xi] P.B. Anand, “Water ‘Scarcity’ in Chennai”, Discussion Paper No. 2001/40, UNU/WIDER: 2001.
[xii] “Lake Level and Storage as on 08-06-2011”, an internal MetroWater document.
[xiii] Joel Ruet, V.S. Saravanan, and Marie-Helene Zerah, 2002, p. 19.
[xiv] Veena Srinivasan, 2008, pg. 26
[xv]Chennai City Development Plan 2009, vol. 3.
[xvi]Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1978 (Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1978). Available at http://www.chennaimetrowater.tn.nic.in/admin/actbook.htm.
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