The New Indian Express 13.10.2010
No watering down this crisis
BANGALORE: In their struggle to cling on to power, politicians seem to have ignored the water crisis that is looming large on the city. According to experts, the city will need more water than that is available from all known sources by 2014, and there will be water scarcity by 2015.Reputed environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy said, "We have brought this issue to the notice of the politicians many times as the bureaucrats cannot do anything without their consent. They always speak about getting huge loans from World Bank to implement some or the other project. But they are not bothered about what happens in the long run. We have to realise that if it does not rain enough in Cauvery river catchment area for one or two years, half of the city's population will have to migrate. We must ensure that water scarcity does not add to the problems that the city is facing due to unplanned growth. If not, there will be chaos."
Water expert Captain Raja Rao said, "Going by previous experience, it will take at least eight to 10 years to finish a big project after it is conceived. Many clearances, including environmental ones, have to be obtained, surveys and planning have to be done and funds have to be sourced. Yet, politicians are ignorant about this danger. They seem to be more interested in clearing special economic zones and in developing Information Technology Investment Region."
"Whenever we raise this issue, they say that they are thinking of getting water to Bangalore from Alamatti dam or westbound rivers. Getting water from Alamatti is a distant dream as a huge amount of resources are required. We may have to spend years in courts before we get environmental clearance to draw water from westbound rivers. I think politicians are not very serious about this issue. Even if those in power start working on the project today, it may not be implemented during the remaining part of their tenure," Rao said.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) chairman P B Ramamurthy said, "We are working on supplying treated sewage for nonpotable purposes and implementing rainwater harvesting seriously. Even if we implement all these programmes, we will have to find an additional source, at least by 2015. We are working towards a solution to this problem and the decisions have to be taken at government level."
(* though BWSSB has the infrastructure to pump 125 MLD from Tippagondana Halli, it is pumping only 10 MLD due to water scarcity)
BWSSB is providing an additional 100 MLD by pumping water from all four stages of Cauvery drinking water project roundtheclock. The city is getting a total of 920 MLD of water daily.
Present demand
As on October 4, 2010, BWSSB has given 5,73,542 water connections and on an average it supplies over 1,500 litres of water to each connection daily. At present, Cauvery water is being supplied to the core areas of the city and only 72 of the 225 wards of the erstwhile CMCs and TMCs that were added to the city. BWSSB has promised to supply Cauvery water to areas under the erstwhile CMCs and TMCs, after the completion of Cauvery IV Stage II Phase in 2012 as the city will get an additional 500 MLD of water through the project.
Projected demand
There is a demand for at least 2 lakh new connections in the newlyadded areas of the city, including the 110 villages. There is demand for at least 300 MLD of water from the newlyadded areas alone. During summer, the city needs an additional 100 to 150 MLD.
"Going by the projections, the additional 500 MLD of water that the city would get from Cauvery IV Stage II Phase will be completely utilised by 2014," Yellappa Reddy said.
The city will need more than 1,600 MLD by 2015. Even if all the proposed projects are completed on time and even if all available sources are harnessed, the city will manage to get only 1,400 MLD. The demand is likely to increase by 200 MLD during summer. Therefore, the city will have a scarcity of at least 400 MLD of water every day, by 2015.
Underground water
According to the deputy director of mines and geology department, the aquifers have dried up in some areas of the city. In some other areas, where ground water is available at lesser depth, it is contaminated. The ground water level has dipped by at least 20 metres in the last five years.
"The ground water will not be sufficient even for construction purposes in the city in future, unless the government comes up with programmes to replenish ground water," Reddy said.
