Two 100 MLD desalination plants, one in Minjur and the other in Nemmeli, now contribute close to one-third of Chennai’s total water supply. The first of these started operating in 2010. Owned 75% by infrastructure firm IVRCL, already by 2013 the plant had run into financial trouble. IVRCL is looking to exit the project.
Most of the average annual rainwater of 1,200-1,300 mm that Chennai receives—more than Bangalore’s 900 mm or Delhi’s 800 mm average—flows into the sea. Leaks and pilferage are the bane of Chennai’s water distribution network. Only 65% of the water from the city’s treatment plants reach consumers while in Germany this is as high as 95%.
Is it appropriate to compare a city like Chennai which receives almost three times as much rain in a year as that of Tel Aviv, Israel ? Professor S. Janakarajan of the Madras Institute of Development Studies says : “Seawater desalination was conceived as an option for providing potable water in rain-starved countries, like those in the Middle East."
"Where is the need to go in for such an environmentally damaging and costly exercise? It should ideally be the absolute last resort, which in this case is not”, the Professor asks.
Researchers have questioned the need for the state to back desalination projects when recycling of used water can be more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable too.
The Nemmeli plant inaugurated in February was delayed for years by political bickering and execution hurdles. The plant was to be built at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore to pump out 300 mld of treated sea water. While the cost remained at Rs.1,000 crore, the capacity was whittled down to 100 mld. Two cyclones damaged the plant during construction.
Back in 2013, a fact-finding team looked into allegations of environment and human rights violations arising out of the construction and operation of the Nemmeli plant. The report recorded villagers’ accusations of the desalination plant eroding the coastline and endangering their livelihoods in addition to turning the groundwater salty.
The brine released by desalination plants settles on the surface of the ocean and disconnects oxygen causing oxygen deficiency in the ocean floor area, which threatens marine life.
There are some species of fish which feed, breed and spend most part of their early life along the coast. If the hypersaline reject is let out close to the coast, the probability of these organisms being affected is rather prominent. In addition, high-pressure motors used to draw in water also brings in marine life forms of varying sizes despite nets placed to avoid relatively larger organisms. Fish, fry and crabs get crushed and killed in the process. Loss of income and marine resources cannot be discounted as fishermen in and around Nemmeli have observed it firsthand.
Structures built into the sea for plant construction triggered rapid sea erosion resulting in the loss of an entire line of community buildings built by the Rotary Club after the 2004 tsunami.
Inhabitants of the Nemmeli plant's neighbouring villages allege that water let out from the plant has reduced the beach to a thin strip, forcing the sea water to come close to the land where they live. Villagers sent various petitions to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, their local MLA and to the Chennai Metro Water. The state government responded to complaints by jailing tens of fishermen. Fishermen were barred access to fishing grounds in the vicinity of the plant's intake pipeline.
Even in the Middle East, which dominates the desalination market, there are no proper methods to tackle the brine and reject water. A 2011 study by Pilar Palmolar, Spain, states that extinction of fish larvae has been observed near brine discharges in Ashkelon, a coastal city in the southern district of Israel.
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| Rainy day in Chennai / Aadhitharajan / CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
Is it appropriate to compare a city like Chennai which receives almost three times as much rain in a year as that of Tel Aviv, Israel ? Professor S. Janakarajan of the Madras Institute of Development Studies says : “Seawater desalination was conceived as an option for providing potable water in rain-starved countries, like those in the Middle East."
"Where is the need to go in for such an environmentally damaging and costly exercise? It should ideally be the absolute last resort, which in this case is not”, the Professor asks.
The Nemmeli plant inaugurated in February was delayed for years by political bickering and execution hurdles. The plant was to be built at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore to pump out 300 mld of treated sea water. While the cost remained at Rs.1,000 crore, the capacity was whittled down to 100 mld. Two cyclones damaged the plant during construction.
Back in 2013, a fact-finding team looked into allegations of environment and human rights violations arising out of the construction and operation of the Nemmeli plant. The report recorded villagers’ accusations of the desalination plant eroding the coastline and endangering their livelihoods in addition to turning the groundwater salty.
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| Dead Sea salt / Tiia Monto / CC-BY-SA 3.0 |
There are some species of fish which feed, breed and spend most part of their early life along the coast. If the hypersaline reject is let out close to the coast, the probability of these organisms being affected is rather prominent. In addition, high-pressure motors used to draw in water also brings in marine life forms of varying sizes despite nets placed to avoid relatively larger organisms. Fish, fry and crabs get crushed and killed in the process. Loss of income and marine resources cannot be discounted as fishermen in and around Nemmeli have observed it firsthand.
In addition to wrecking local livelihoods, the plant has depleted the area’s freshwater sources. During the plant’s construction phase, groundwater was pumped out continuously to sink deep foundations. This resulted in rapid depletion of the available underground sweet water, which eventually got replaced with intruding salt water from the sea. A plant designed to produce fresh water from the sea had, in reality, abetted the conversion of the existing fresh water in the region into unpalatable salty water. Water in handpumps in the area turned saline, forcing the neighbours of this drinking water factory to rely on expensive bottled water.
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| Carlsbad desalination plant, California Bovlb / CC-BY-SA 3.0 |
Inhabitants of the Nemmeli plant's neighbouring villages allege that water let out from the plant has reduced the beach to a thin strip, forcing the sea water to come close to the land where they live. Villagers sent various petitions to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, their local MLA and to the Chennai Metro Water. The state government responded to complaints by jailing tens of fishermen. Fishermen were barred access to fishing grounds in the vicinity of the plant's intake pipeline.
The Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change noted in Nov 2017 that there was already significant erosion of the shoreline due to the 100 MLD plant commissioned at Nemmeli.
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| Dead Grouper Fish / Jbellegaribay CC-BY-SA 3.0 |
"Our land and livelihoods have been compromised so that people in the city don’t go without water. But we don’t get a drop of drinking water from the plant,” complains Santhosh, a fisherman, whose village is near the Nemmeli plant.
Janakarajan insists that our aim should be to conserve water received during the monsoon months instead of resorting to options like desalination after letting fresh water run wastefully into the sea. “Desalination is extremely unfriendly to the environment, and contributes to coastal ecological degradation, in addition to being ridiculously expensive.”
Chennai Metrowater now proposes to construct another 150 MLD plant at the same location. The project documents falsely describe the beach space as barren land, masking the multiple uses that fisherfolk put these livelihood commons to. Villagers are concerned about pollution, loss of livelihood spaces and erosion. They are worried that erosion will bring the sea closer and expose them to danger.
They know from past experience that MetroWater's assurances of "negligible" impact are baseless, and that the statutory conditions imposed as part of the environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment will not be followed. They know that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the State Coastal Zone Management Authority will take no action in the event of violation. They know that they will be terrorised by the police if they voice their fears.
Currently, only 26 per cent of Chennai’s drinking water comes from the two desalination plants, with a total capacity of 200 MLD. To meet the city’s drinking water needs, conserving and protecting lakes and wetlands is a cheaper and environmentally better option than desalination. These wetlands will also save the city from urban floods. An analysis by CSE showed that post the year 2000, Chennai lost 50 per cent of its water bodies due to urbanisation. This resulted in seven major floods in the last 15 years.
Chennai Metrowater now proposes to construct another 150 MLD plant at the same location. The project documents falsely describe the beach space as barren land, masking the multiple uses that fisherfolk put these livelihood commons to. Villagers are concerned about pollution, loss of livelihood spaces and erosion. They are worried that erosion will bring the sea closer and expose them to danger.
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| Beach FisherMen / Nagafotos / CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
Currently, only 26 per cent of Chennai’s drinking water comes from the two desalination plants, with a total capacity of 200 MLD. To meet the city’s drinking water needs, conserving and protecting lakes and wetlands is a cheaper and environmentally better option than desalination. These wetlands will also save the city from urban floods. An analysis by CSE showed that post the year 2000, Chennai lost 50 per cent of its water bodies due to urbanisation. This resulted in seven major floods in the last 15 years.
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