One of the most pervasive problems afflicting people throughout the world is inadequate access to clean water and sanitation.

The allocation of Rs.300 crore announced in the Union budget towards the setting up of a desalination plant in Nemmeli is about one-third of the total project cost of nearly Rs.995 crore. Presenting the budget on Friday, Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram said the amount would be allocated for the facility, which is to be set up under public-private partnership . A senior government official said the State government sent a detailed project report, prepared by Mecon Limited a month ago, seeking full grant for the project. It is awaiting further details about the allocation from the Centre. The 100-million-litre-a-day capacity desalination plant is to be set up on a 40-acre site, located about 35 km south of Chennai. According to the report, nearly 270 mld of seawater would be drawn to generate 100 mld of drinking water. The remaining quantum of 165 mld of water with high-salinity level would be discharged into the sea. Once the fund from the Centre was obtained, the tendering process would take six months to be completed. The execution period of the project is about two years. A Metrowater official said the plant in Nemmeli would cater to the requirements of the southern parts of the city. The treated water would be conveyed to water distribution stations in Velachery, Pallipattu and Thiruvanmiyur. It would also meet the needs of the areas on the IT corridor and an underground sump is being constructed at Kelambakkam for the purpose. Villages along the IT corridor such as Semmencheri and Karapakkam would be also provided the supply.

The introduction of the axial piston pumps and the development of energy recovery units especially for seawater reverse osmosis has changed the system design dramatically and reduced the energy consumption by up to 80% in these installations. Oct-Dec 2007

United Arab Emirates's Masdar city will soon be the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste and car-free city. Designed in accordance with wwf's

The DHA water desalination and power generation project, first of its kind in the country will be formally inaugurated on Monday. A DHA statement here on Sunday said, the project will provide 94 MW gross power linked to KESC network and 3 MGD of potable water specific for DHA needs. It said the Desalination Plant has been established by DHA Cogen Limited (DCL), a Company set up under a joint venture agreement between DHA and Messrs Sacoden (Pvt) Limited from Singapore, and its associates.

The construction of three plants in Africa and China, including Africa's largest seawater desalination plant in Algeria, have been the latest ventures of GE Water and Process Technology. Technologies like SWRO, EDR and UF are used in these projects for the treatment of seawater and brackish water.

A FEW warning signs and a rickety pier are all that remain of Overton Beach's once-busy lakeside marina. The boats have been gone since February, towed more than 30 miles (50km) to where they are in less danger of running aground. Fish-cleaning stations are now hundreds of yards from the receding shoreline.

The Victorian government has announced plans to build Australia's largest desalination plant and pipeline to boost water supply to the state capital. The desalination plant in Melbourne's

desalination plant rejected: The Chennai water forum has appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to drop its proposed Rs 500 crore desalination plant at Minjur in the state capital. The proposed

China plans to use desalinated seawater to combat water shortages in coastal areas, planning to produce up to 800 million to one billion litres of water per day by 2010. A plan issued by the finance

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