The Hindu 19.12.2009
Nearly 40 p.c of water going waste
Staff Reporter
| Bhubaneswar tops the table of national average of water loss in Class I cities |
BHUBANESWAR: Even as Orissa government has declared to constitute Orissa Water Corporation (OWC) to regulate water supply in the capital city apprehending worsening of water scarcity in future, nearly 40 per cent of supplied water go waste.
Rainwater harvesting, the provision which was made mandatory in building regulations, is hardly taken seriously for which recharging of groundwater does not take place as is desired.
According to city-based Regional Centre of Development Cooperation that works on water rights issues, Bhubaneswar figures prominently in the national arena in terms of water loss due to leakage in public supply. “While the national average water loss of Class-1 cities stands at 21.62 per cent, Bhubaneswar, being one among them, stands at the top of the list with 40 per cent,” said Bikash Kumar Pati, a researcher with RCDC.
The total water supply of Bhubaneswar is 239.13 MLD (Million Litres Day) out of which 95.66 MLD is a waste through leakage.
As per 2001 census, the population of Bhubaneswar is 6.57 lakhs. The projected population has been estimated to reach 16.9 lakhs by the year 2031.
“Looking at the dependency on ground water, 35 per cent of water supply in Bhubaneswar is from 139 production wells (dug wells and borewells). If we look at the ground water situation of the city, the condition is precarious too,” Mr. Pati said
According to RCDC, the normal monsoon rainfall of Bhubaneswar is 1200 mm recorded in between June 15 and September 30. “A calculation reveals that 20,000 residential buildings with rooftop area of 150 sqm each along with 80,000 sqm rooftop area of government buildings would contribute to 6.48 MLD water for the supply. This amount of water is fair enough to supply water to 48,000 people or 9,600 households of five members,” the RCDC researcher said.
Other than River Daya, Mahanadi, Kuakhai and 139 Production Wells, there are 865 tube wells in Bhubaneswar for provisioning of water. ”Most of these tube wells are abandoned which can be successfully used as recharging points for rainwater harvesting and probably that will be the best utilization of those abandoned tube wells, he said.
Rather than looking at formation of a body OWC to address water woes, rainwater harvesting is absolutely essential for the city, Mr. Pati opined. It is feared that OWC is another step towards water privatisation.
