Deccan Herald                 29.05.2013

3,000-km sewer network in place: BWSSB

The BWSSB said on Tuesday that it had built a 3,000-km sewer network in the City, designed only to carry waste water and not rainwater.

The Board, in a press release, also appealed to the public not to let household rainwater into the Board’s underground drainage (UGD) system. Doing so was a violation of Section 72 of the BWSSB Act, it said, adding that it could attract a maximum penalty of Rs 5,000.

“With the onset of rainy season, numerous complaints of blockage of sanitary manholes and overflow of sewage have been brought to our notice. We have found that many houses and buildings have linked their rainwater discharge to the UGD lines, causing overload on the sewer system,” the release said.

The Board said Section 72 prescribes that each premises shall have one drain for filth and polluted water that should be connected to the Board’s sewer line and an entirely distinct drain for rainwater and unpolluted sub-soil water, emptying into the rainwater harvesting system or BBMP surface drain or any other suitable place.