“We have amended the BWSSB Act, making rainwater harvesting compulsory.

It is up to the officers to implement it,” he said.

At the national conference on urban water management organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development, Naidu said that according to projections, the city would need at least 2,550 MLD (million litres per day) of water by 2040.

However, only 1,500 MLD of water could be supplied if all its available water sources were exploited.

Supplying recycled sewage water and rainwater harvesting were the only available options to meet the required demand, the minister said.

“We are already in the process of setting up 20 sewage treatment plants around the city. The purified water will be stored in the lakes for some time and purified once again and supplied to the consumers. Dual pipelines would be laid to supply both potable and recycled water. However, the citizens would not be compelled to use potable water alone for drinking purposes,” Naidu said.

Bavarian Environment Agency president Dr Ing Albert Gottle, in his keynote address, explained different concepts related to sustainable integrated water management.

Advisor to the Chief Minister on Urban affairs Dr A Ravindra, BWSSB chairman PB Ramamurthy and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner Siddaiah were among those present on the occasion.

SOON, YOU MAY BE PAYING WATER BILLS THROUGH CELL-PHONES

Very soon Bangaloreans could be paying their water bills through mobile phones as Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) is exploring this possibility to make bill payment easier.

On the sidelines of the national conference on urban water management, BWSSB chairman PB Ramamurthy said that a pilot project to study the feasibility of collecting the payments through mobile phones would be undertaken in Indiranagar area in a month.

According to the plan, a service provider would tie up with BWSSB, consumers and the banks with which the consumers have their accounts. The service provider will inform the consumers through an SMS about the bill amount as soon as the bill is generated. As soon as the consumer presses the pay option that will be included in the SMS, the concerned bank will remit the bill amount to the service providers account.

The money will be eventually transferred to BWSSB’s account.

Ramamurthy said, “We will ensure that the service provider charges a reasonable amount for the service. We may ask him to charge Rs 5 per payment.” BWSSB will also start collecting bills through internet as soon as a data centre is started and that may become a reality in another six months. He said that with the hike in electricity charges BWSSB had to spend 10.2 per cent more on its electricity bills.