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Bricks in flush tank, filters on taps: Water-starved Chennai gets creative to save every last drop

Bricks in flush tank, filters on taps: Water-starved Chennai gets creative to save every last drop.
The municipality has added 300 tankers to its regular fleet but for some residents, the wait for a tanker could be a week, if not longer.
Water-saving devices One day recently, in an apartment block in South Chennai’s Thiruvanmiyur neighbourhood, building manager M Moorthy was inspecting several kitchen aerators – small cylindrical devices with two layers of filters that reduce the amount of water coming out of a tap.
“Our building is suffering from water problems, so we have purchased these caps to fit in the kitchen taps of every apartment,” he said.
“People tend to waste a lot of water while washing vessels.” Peeyush Kothari, cofounder of Eco365, which manufactures and sells all kinds of water-saving devices in India, including the kitchen aerators, said business was good.
To limit the amount of water from being used during flushing, a toilet bank is placed inside the tank so that it does not fill up to its full capacity.
A familiar sight these days in Chennai, especially in poorer neighbourhoods, is people waiting for Chennai MetroWater tankers, carrying bright plastic buckets and pots.
The water crisis has led to a surge in the demand for large buckets, according to M Senthil, whose store in South Chennai deals in plastic goods.
“Everyone wants these buckets to collect and store as much water as possible when water tankers pass through their area.” In these colonies, residents also collect waste water, from activities such as washing clothes, to use in their toilets.
“In houses like mine, we use only waste water for flushing.” But in the apartment buildings too, some residents are putting waste water to good use.

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