Desalination plant to help Malad, Kandivali residents

The seaside village of Manori has been identified for setting up the desalination plant, which will have an initial capacity of 200 million litres a day (MLD), which in future can be expanded to 400MLD

MUMBAI: In a fortnight, the BMC will invite tenders for its ambitious desalination project aimed at providing potable water to the residents of Malad and Kandivali. Given the uncertainty of the monsoon every year and in an endeavour to combat climate change, the civic body has been looking at an assured source of water supply.

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The seaside village of Manori has been identified for setting up the desalination plant, which will have an initial capacity of 200 million litres a day (MLD), which in future can be expanded to 400MLD. “A provision of ₹200 crore has been made in the budget for this project,” said a BMC official from the water supply department. “The capital expenditure on construction will be ₹2,066 crore, and then there is the energy cost for 20 years. Renewable energy (energy from natural sources) will be used to make this project viable.”

The civic official said that the initial 200MLD of treated water would be distributed to Malad and Kandivali. “So, instead of these areas getting potable water from the Bhandup filtration plant, they will get it from this desalination plant,” he said. “The water needs of the city are increasing very rapidly. We can no longer just depend on rainfall and our seven reservoirs, and need to tap other sources.”

When asked how the desalinated water would be distributed, the civic official said, “There is already a shaft at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivali West, and whatever water comes from the Manori plant will be released directly into the Kandivali shaft and then sent to Malad and Kandivali areas through the distribution network.”

The plant will be set up on 12 hectares (29.6 acres) of government-owned land at Manori village. This land was earlier leased to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), and the BMC will acquire it through the suburban collector.

The civic official said that the marine work and structure constructed in the sea would have a 400MLD capacity. “The capital expenditure will thus be a little more,” he said. The intake pipe will be constructed three to four km inside the sea, and will be connected to the desalination plant on the sea shore.

The BMC had shelved the desalination project in the past on account of the exorbitant cost of electricity. “But now since we plan to use renewable energy to run the plant, the per-thousand kilolitre cost of treating sea water will be close to ₹42,” said P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (projects). “This is comparable with the cost of the water that currently comes from the city’s seven reservoirs. Since we are doing renewables, we will also have a power purchase agreement. This too will reduce operation costs.”