Chennai turns to Nemmeli desalination as reservoirs near 37% capacity
Chennai is turning to its Nemmeli desalination plants for help as city reservoirs hit nearly 37% capacity, down a huge 3.7 billion cubic feet from last year.
The 110-million-liter-a-day plant is nearly at full speed and should reach maximum output by the end of October, while the bigger 150-million-liter-a-day plant aims to catch up by the end of November.
These upgrades are key to keeping taps running while everyone waits for the northeast monsoon.
Membrane swaps accelerate Nemmeli output
Right now, these two plants cover about 15% of Chennai's daily water needs, mainly helping southern areas and suburbs.
Once the larger plant is fully online, central Chennai will get a boost too.
To make this happen faster, thousands of membranes were swapped out (some even airlifted in from Europe and the U.S.) to keep up with demand as the city rides out this dry spell.