The Hindu 24.03.2017
‘Bengaluru reuses a meagre 1% of its wastewater’
Bengaluru generates 1,400 million litres of sewage every day.K. Murali KumarK_MURALI_KUMAR
Claim made during debate on ‘Wastewater-a curse or an untapped resource?’
The State is reeling under the impact of a drought year, reservoir
levels have plummeted and Bengaluru is staring at an impending water
crisis. Yet, of the 1,400 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage generated
in the city, a meagre 1% is reused.
A day after ‘World Water Day’
was observed, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment (ATREE) had organised a discussion on ‘Wastewater-a curse or
an untapped resource?’ on Thursday. It revealed how Bengaluru is
failing to take what could be a small step towards resolving its water
woes.
“We are in the 21st century, with infrastructure of the 20th
century, administration of the 19th century and mindset of the 18th
century. The concept of treating waste water was thought of only around
1980. Even now, Bengaluru is functioning with half the treatment
capacity,” said Sharachchandra Lele, Senior Fellow and Convenor, Centre
for Environment and Development, ATREE.
Pointing out the dangers
of not having standards for what irrigation water must look like or the
presence of heavy metals in water, he said most farmers today are
picking up water coming from a city upstream for irrigation. “We are
only tagging water bodies (the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board
grades the city’s lakes based on water quality). But what is the desired
quality of water?”
Instead of clearly fixing responsibility on
urban local bodies, it was being pushed on to citizens, he said,
referring to apartment complexes being told to install sewage treatment
plants (STPs).
“People don’t know the value of fresh water as they have unlimited access to ground water,” he added.
Also
indicating the lack of awareness about water scarcity, Priyanka Jamwal,
Fellow, Water, Land and Society Programme, ATREE, said, “Everyone is
equally exposed to poor quality air, but some can flush down poor
quality water to downstream areas. What city dwellers need to be made
aware of is that it will come back to them in the milk and vegetables
that they consume.” Durba Biswas, Fellow, Water, Land and Society
Programme spoke about how the high and mid-income level houses mitigate
the effects of poor quality water, but poorer households have no access
or means to do the same.
Poor infrastructure
Priyanka Jamwal, Fellow, Water,
Land and Society Programme, ATREE said it is not the lack of technology
that is a barrier; rather, it is the lack of capacity and manpower
equipped with the right knowledge.
By the
estimates of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the
capacity to treat the 1,400 MLD of sewage generated in Bengaluru is 721
MLD. The average treatment quantity is 520 MLD. “Even in the
Vrushabhavathi Valley Treatment Plant, one of the oldest in the city,
the quality of effluents does not meet standards,” she said.