Water Supply

Do you live in an apartment with its own sewage treatment plant (STP)? Do you know how much of the treated water is reused and how much ends up clogging the city's stormwater drains? Despite laws in place in Bengaluru that mandate the setting up of decentralised plants and 'zero discharge', i.e. for all the treated water to be used up within the apartment fence, turns out reuse levels remain alarmingly low. The city now has over 3,000 decentralised STPs, which treat 615 million litres of sewage every day. Centralised STPs generate another 650 MLD of treated water. But the…

Tanker water supply, a crucial supplementary source of water for Mumbaikars, could soon become costlier with the implementation of new restrictions on groundwater abstraction. Though the restrictions were introduced way back in September 2020, their implementation was delayed because of clout enjoyed by the water tanker lobby and the city’s heavy dependence on the tanker water supply. Now, tanker owners have to get permission for extracting groundwater for domestic and commercial use. If the rules are not complied with, penalties and police cases follow. How did they go about implementing restrictions? Earlier, in February 2022, officials of the Central Ground…

Depleting groundwater levels across India has been a cause of concern for a long time. To address this, in September 2020, the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) under the union government’s Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation introduced new guidelines for bulk water suppliers - chiefly applicable to tanker water suppliers.   In a public notice issued in newspapers, the ministry explained that the nationwide restrictions were introduced for regulation and control of groundwater development and management and to issue necessary regulatory directions.  How did the restrictions affect Mumbai? This led to chaos in Mumbai as the city depends on…

Bengaluru now has over 2,450 decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), including those installed in apartments and large commercial buildings. These STPs cumulatively treat approximately 615 Million Litres of wastewater per day, which is 8% of the total sewage generated in the city. Most of these decentralised STPs are poorly maintained, resulting in poor quality of treated wastewater. There is limited reuse and the excess water is often illegally discharged into open drains, resulting in polluted lakes and water bodies. Reusing treated wastewater for gardening, toilet flushing and washing common areas in apartment complexes can reduce both water scarcity and water…

Translated by Sandhya Raju நீண்ட வரிசையில் வண்ணமிகு குடங்கள், காத்திருகக்கும் மக்கள் கூட்டம், இவை 2019 கோடை காலத்தில், சென்னையின் பல வீதிகளில் காணப்பட்ட காட்சி. அதன் பிறகு, நல்ல மழை, போதிய நீர் சேகரிப்பு ஆகியவை இருந்தாலும், விளிம்பு நிலையில் வாழும் மக்களின் தண்ணீர் விநியோகம் என்னவோ மாறா காட்சியாகவே உள்ளது.  தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனை எல்லா காலங்களிலும் எங்களுக்கு உள்ளது, கோடை காலத்தில் இன்னும் மோசமாக இருக்கும்” என்கிறார் புளியந்தோப்பில் வசிக்கும் 32 வயது கமலா. அதிகாலை 5 மணிக்கு தன் வேலையை தொடங்கும் இவர் ஐந்து பேருக்கு சமைத்து, மூன்ரு பிள்ளைகளை பள்ளிக்கு கிளப்ப வேண்டும். காலை 9.30 மணிக்கு தண்ணீர் லாரி சத்தம் கேட்டதும் குடத்துடன் சாலைக்கு செல்கிறார்.  “இது தான் எனது தினசரி வேலை, தண்ணீர் லாரி வரும் நேரத்தை பொருத்தே எனது மற்ற வேலைகளை செய்ய வேண்டும். நகரத்தில் பெரும்பாலான பெண்கள் சந்திக்கும்…

Thanks to a crowdfunding effort that raised around Rs 10 Lakhs and two months of intensive work by community residents, local villagers and workers from the panchayat starting April 2020, the residents of Zed Earth, a gated community in Dodaballapur, haven’t spent a single rupee on water tankers so far this year. In the past, their annual cost on tankers could go up to as much as Rs 2 Lakhs depending on the ground water situation. “This is the only year when we have not spent a single rupee on buying water,” says an elated Anil Kashyap, resident of Zed…

Rows of colourful plastic pots lined up before tanker lorries and a sea of people waiting near hand pumps had become defining images of Chennai’s water crisis in the summer of 2019. While the city has seen good monsoons and sufficient water in storage in the years since, little has changed in terms of regular supply for many residents of low-income communities across the city. “The water crisis we face is an all-seasonal issue and summer only worsens our living conditions,” says L Kamala, a 32-year-old resident of Pulianthope. She starts her day as early as 5 am. She cooks…

Lakshmi, a resident of Chikka Banaswadi in Bangalore, and the 30 other families who live there, have no access to water. Lakshmi buys nine plastic pots of water every day from shops nearby paying Rs 2 per pot. Even if each pot holds 20 litres, nine pots give Lakshmi, her husband and two children, just 180 litres of water per day for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, etc., whereas the Centre's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recommends daily water supply of 135 litres per capita in urban areas. Lakshmi, who lives in a slum in Chikka Banaswadi, spends Rs 18…

Article 21 of the Constitution is interpreted as the right to safe drinking water for all citizens, even as Mumbai residents have struggled with an unequal and unreliable water supply. But from May 1st, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) has started to change this with its new water policy. BMC’s new ‘water for all’ policy will ensure all residents - including illegal, informal settlements, buildings without occupation certificates (OC) and pavement dwellers - are eligible for water connections. An estimated 2 million+ people in 150 slums do not have access to adequate water, and 50% of buildings (over 50,000) in…

Many areas that were merged with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in 2011 are yet to receive many civic amenities and services. The residents of Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam’s Srinivasa Nagar and Ram Nagar have been experiencing issues with water supply and sewage. Many in the area do not have what should be basic civic amenities and have been raising the issue with great fervour over the past few months. There are a few reasons for the problems faced by residents with water supply and sewage connections, as we have understood from our talks with city officials and engineers. These include improper and…