June 17: Stung by the criticism it faced for its inability to ensure adequate water supply in the city this summer, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is planning 13 Ground Level Reservoirs (GLRs) to improve water distribution. These GLRs will come up in the north, east and western parts of the city, where the water crisis was acute.

Presently BWSSB has 49 GLRs with the capacity to hold 756.65 Million Litres (ML) of water. The new 13 GLRs will increase the storage capacity to 198 ML. The construction of six GLRs, with a capacity to store 47 ML of water, was taken up under the BWSSB’s budget for 2009-10 with Rs 22.7 crore allotted for the project. In north Bengaluru, two GLRs with the capacity to hold 9 ML each are coming up in MEI Layout and Coffee Board Layout.

In the east, a GLR with a capacity to hold 9 ML is coming up in Nandini layout while two GLRs with 7.5 ML capacity each are coming up in Aerohalli on Magadi Road and at Srigandada Kaval in House Building Co-operative Society layout near Rajajinagar. Another 5 ML GLR is coming up near Chowdeswari temple at Nagarbhavi.

The construction of these GLRs was taken up in January 2010 and are expected to be completed in 15 months, said a BWS- SB official. The Cauvery fourth stage second phase will add an additional 500 ML of water by October 2011. Under this project, another seven GLRs with the capacity to hold 151 ML additional water are coming up at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

To distribute the water reaching the northern parts of the city from Gubbilala pumping station, a 50 ML GLR will be constructed at GKVK. Another 24 ML GLR has been planned in Uttarahalli and a 48 ML GLR at Hegganalli, said an official.

To distribute water from Tataguni pumping station in the eastern parts, a 18 ML GLR will be constructed in Jambu Savari Dinne. A 12 ML GLR will come up in Hoodi and a 30 ML GLR near Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara.
To pump water further, a 4 ML sump cum pump house will be constructed at Narayanpura while another 14 ML GLR will come up in OMBR layout.

“We plan to divert 230 ML which we will get from Cauvery fourth state phase to localities in the north and 220 ML to the east,” said a BWSSB official.