For those curious about the history behind the naming of a subway and a road in Chennai after J.W. Madeley, the answer lies in the quaint, red-brick building treasured amid tall trees on New Avadi Road.
The busy arterial road houses the sprawling green campus of Kilpauk Water Works, Tamil Nadu’s first water treatment plant. Nearly 108 years old and still sturdy, the British-era plant remains the backbone of the treated water supply system in the State capital. A plaque at the entrance of the building stands testimony to the evolution of the city’s protected water supply system.
It carries the name of the then Governor of Madras, H.E. Lord Penland, who inaugurated the premises on December 17, 1914, and J.W. Madeley, the then special engineer of Madras Municipal Corporation, who pioneered the design for the organised drinking water system.
