In June 2017, The Times of India reported that Chennai was drawing around 40 percent of its piped water from the sea during the state's most severe drought in 142 years. The Minjur and Nemmeli plants, each rated at 100,000 m³/day, delivered roughly 180,000 of the 470,000 m³/day distributed by the utility CMWSSB, against demand of 1.3 to 1.4 million m³/day. CMWSSB paid 60 rupees per cubic metre for Minjur water and about 30 for Nemmeli. Two more plants were proposed at Perur.
The report showed how a monsoon-dependent city came to rely on seawater during a crisis, even though experts regarded desalination there as a costly last resort.
Source: The Times of India