Deccan Herald 03.02.2014
Hunting for alternative water sources for Bangalore
Bangalore city is being supplied 1,200 million litres of water per day (MLD) from the Cauvery basin to consumers.
Although
BWSSB can draw up to 1,400 MLD, the Board is yet to mobilise consumers
to supply to its full capacity. With 1,400 MLD, BWSSB’s drawal of water
from Cauvery gets exhausted. BWSSB has now written to the
stategovernment seeking 10 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of Cauvery
water to be supplied to the 110 villages that are now part of BBMP.
Although
the State cabinet has approved it, a go-ahead from Cauvery Water
Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) is awaited. Bangalore will need an additional
8.19 TMC of water to meet the growing demand for water till the year
2021.
literally goes down the drain, BWSSB will have to take up on a
war-footing the plugging of leakages. Although, BWSSB has initiated the
unaccounted-for water (UFW) project at various divisions, there is need
for urgent control. Plugging these leakages is expected to improve
water supply in many places that currently get supplies once a week.
But Cauvery water alone cannot meet the growing demands of the
city. Alternative sources of water such as recycling of waste water,
harvesting of rainwater are being talked about. BWSSB has appointed an
expert committee to look into long and short-term solutions for
Bangalore water requirement and has made several recommendations
including recycling.
recycling of waste and treating it to the level where the water can be
used for potable purpose. The Board is all set to construct a recycling
plant at Vrushabhavathi valley along the Arkavathi river course in the
coming days.
Once the government gives is nod, tenders will be
floated for the Rs 475 crore project soon. The project will yield an
additional 145 ML of water to the City. BWSSB is tying up with
Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB), which is said to have
revolutionised reclaimed water technology through its brand name
NEWater.
Earlier proposals by BWSSB to start waste water
recycling projects had been rejected by the previous governments.
According to a BWSSB official, the initiative must come from the
ministers concerned to use recycle water. There is always an element of
apprehension and a mental block which needs to be addressed.
The
Board, says the official, will be very transparent about the recycling
project and update the public about how the entire project is carried
out. The Board is also planning to conduct several outreach programmes
to educate the public about recycle water.
Besides this, BWSSB
will also have to ensure that rainwater harvesting (RWH) is given the
highest priority and structures are set up in all residential and
commercial buildings. After amending the BWSSB Act, it was made
compulsory to incorporate RWH structure in houses constructed on 60X40
area and new houses constructed on 30X40 area.
Replenishment of
depleted groundwater level is another area of critical importance for
BWSSB. Heavy dependence on borewell water must subsequently come down in
order to save groundwater, say the officials and water experts.
