The Indian Express 28.10.2013
Mayor back from Israel with ideas on water management
Returning from a trip to Israel after studying water management
practices there, Mayor Subhash Chawla has opined that small sewerage
treatment plants could be set up at different places in the city,
especially near those places that are to be supplied treated water.
A report of the visit would be prepared that would be tabled in the House.
The Mayor, along with Municipal Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh
and an executive engineer of the Public Health department visited
Administrative Staff College of India at Hyderabad and then Israel for
the conference wherein officials from other states also participated.
Chawla says that instead of setting up treatment plants of larger
capacity at one place, smaller ones were installed at Israel. Some were
also potable in nature.
The civic body has already spent crores on setting up sewerage
treatment plants and also laying a network of pipelines for supplying
treated water to all parks and greenbelts under JNNURM. Another
technology that the team from the city found useful was for plugging
leaks in the pipelines. There is wastage of water in the city due to
leakages.
However, with the conditions in Israel being different from
Chandigarh, there is not much that can be replicated in the city. With
water being scarce in Israel, the price charged from the consumers is
quite high. A private company is responsible for the water supply. The
Mayor said that sophisticated water meters were installed in Israel.
These ensured error-free billing. The cost was, however, between Rs
5,000 to Rs 6,000 per meter against around Rs 1,500 that is charged in
Chandigarh.
Chawla says that the technology that was in use in Israel for
water management was quite expensive, adding that it needs to be
discussed whether this kind of technology can be adopted in India or
not.
The drinking water there is not provided for agriculture like what
happens here. Also the water is pumped up from 400 metres in order to
cater to the needs of the people.
