Water Supply

With Bengaluru experiencing near continuous rainfall over the last few days, water scarcity is the last thing on any one’s mind. But come February, when the water taps open to a trickle and the tanker water suppliers hike their rates, it won’t be easy. What does it take to save every possible drop and manage water demand to avoid the typical summer worries? As per the BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board), the current water demand for the city is 2,100 MLD (Million Litres per Day), which is an increase of 50% compared to the demand 10 years ago.…

City of 1000 Tanks intends to develop a Water Balance Model across the city by collecting rainwater, treating wastewater and runoff pollution with decentralized Nature-Based Solutions, and by recharging the underground aquifer to make Chennai water-rich. City of 1000 Tanks has an immediate, midterm and long-term vision for Chennai’s water security. Based on a unique Water Balance Model the project will harvest rainwater and treat wastewater and runoff pollution before recharging into the underground aquifer. This is achieved by people-friendly and culturally appropriate planning, made possible through aesthetically beautiful nature-based systems. The project will be rooted within the local context…

In July 2021, the State Minister for Human Resources and Finances, PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented a white paper that indicates that Chennaiites may soon see an upward revision of water charges. The document draws attention to the mounting losses incurred by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) which stood at Rs 2581.77 crores as on March 31, 2021, and identifies "the gross under-recovery of the operational costs" as one of the main contributing factors. It also points to the irrationality of the flat rates at which water is charged in Chennai; to quote from the white paper: "The bulk…

As of 6 August, the Mithi river in Mumbai became the first to have booms or 'thrash traps' installed across it. This machinery imported from Finland transfers garbage collected from the river, via a conveyor belt, to another conveyor belt that segregates the waste which is eventually recycled.  Booms are temporary floating barriers made up of light materials like plastic chained across water bodies to prevent and collect floating garbage from flowing into the sea.  Booms obstruct floating debris without affecting marine life in any way.  How will Mithi be cleaned up?  Booms placed near Bandra Kurla Complex on the…

“Our mindset is such that we want everything free,” says Umesh Desai director of water resources at Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad. That mindset led to much initial resistance when resident associations in about 15 apartment complexes in Ahmedabad decided to install individual water meters and started charging for the water consumed by each apartment. Given that in most Indian cities, charges for utilities like water and electricity are heavily subsidised and nowhere near actual production costs, and free water and electricity is a sop most political parties offer during elections, it took some convincing the Ahmedabad flat owners…

The 2021-22 Union Budget announced the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), an ambitious project that aims to provide potable tap water supply to 2.86 crore households by 2024. How will this work out for urban India? Urban India is fast hurtling towards a major water crisis in the years to come. A 2020 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has projected that 30 Indian cities will face a ‘grave water risk’ by 2050 due to overcrowding in cities. A Niti Aayog report too had predicted that 21 Indian cities including New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad will run out of…

Apartment residents often are unaware of how much water they consume in their household. A common water meter installed by the BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) measures consumption of the entire apartment complex, but not of individual flats. The monthly water bill based on this meter is usually split evenly among all residents. But, in May 2020, BWSSB introduced a new regulation that mandates internal water meters for every flat in apartment complexes. Each apartment is responsible for installing these meters within their premises. Individual water meters compulsory, but no penalty yet According to the new regulation 43-A…

On 18 July, Renita D’Souza and her family woke up with neck deep water in their house at Hanuman Nagar slum along the storm water drains. They found themselves surrounded by houses laced with dirt. “Our house was full of muck and we had to wade through a foot-deep grime throughout the day and there was no water to either drink or clean up," she said.  The electricity supply to their house was disconnected as a precautionary measure. The entire neighbourhood could not light gas stoves. “We had to ask our children to buy vada pav because we couldn’t even…

Over the years, we have noticed that giving people tips on water conservation often does not translate into practice, especially over the long term. A recent study by researchers at IIM-B shows that behavioural interventions could be a solution. The researchers, Vivek, Deepak Malghan and Kanchan Mukherjee, conducted the study at a 120-unit affluent apartment community in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Each flat in the complex had individual water meters installed already, so each household’s consumption could be measured. The researchers divided the households into four groups: The T1 group were given weekly reports on their per-person water usageT2 group…

With the severe water scarcity in Bengaluru, a large number of residents have to buy water, more so during summers. And due to indiscriminate digging of borewells in the rush to find water, the city's groundwater has been overexploited. But the efforts of many Bengalureans in rainwater harvesting (RWH) already show the way ahead for the city. Currently, Bengaluru is the Indian city with the second-highest number of RWH installations (1.55 lakh), next only to Chennai. Highlighting such efforts, and discussing how to amplify these, was the focus of a webinar jointly organised by BWSSB (Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage…