Bangalore needs a coherent policy to solve its water woes

Demand: 1.3 billion liters per day; Supply: 900 million liters per day (approx.)

By Ankita Lath

BANGALORE(Jan.31)— Bangalore, which hosts a global water summit this week, is dotted with huge high-rises whose number is increasing in tandem with the rise in the population of the city as a whole and as more newly rich young people seek to settle in gated communities.

A clearance for a water connection from Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is required before building an apartment in the city.

Most buildings in Bangalore got the clearances till a year ago, and a no-objection certificate (NOC) with a clause mentioning that water supply to these apartments will be subject to availability of water by the BWSSB.

But the story isn’t the same anymore.

These apartments are now surviving on borewell water or water suppliers, which in turn is reducing the groundwater level and adding to the city’s water crisis.

About a year ago, the BWSSB said it would not provide water-connection clearance to any new apartment due to lack of water availability.

But the problem does not get sorted out there.

The construction companies go ahead and build new apartments only to add to the despair of gullible customers who buy them without checking the availability of basic facilities such as water connection.

Many apartments on the Outer Ring Road are facing water issues and shelling out a huge amount of money to get this from private water supply companies.

Vijay Krishna, who works for the NGO Arghyam, which works in the water and sanitation sector said, “When a city is developing, it should first think about its local resources.”

According to Krishna, with Bangalore’s fast-growing economy, the city’s natural resources are inadequate and there is no clear answer how this situation can be managed.

Although methods like rainwater harvesting, wastewater management and sewage treatment are being made compulsory all over the city, most citizens are still to implement it.

Bangalore landlocked, far from big rivers

The city’s daily water requirement is not met even after people draw water from borewells, get water from private water suppliers and BWSSB supplies as much water as it can from the Cauvery River, 100 kilometers away.

Bangalore does not have a river close by nor is it a coastal city. But what it did have was as many as 180 lakes, which have been depleted or encroached over the years.

This has led to a huge water supply crisis in the city. Drawing water from the Cauvery is expensive, which pushes up the price of water.

The Cauvery Stage 4 Phase 2 project, which should be completed by March, will supply an additional 500 million liters of water to the city per day. But experts are of the opinion that, by the time that project is implemented, the demand will have risen and the 500 million liters of water will not be enough.

So what is the way forward?

According to the World Health Organization, every person needs a minimum of 135 liters of water each day. Where will Bangalore get all that water from?

Will conferences and summits help?

Recently a daylong conference took place in the city where authorities like Bangalore Environment Trust and The Center for Policies and Practices pondered how to deal with a likely water famine by 2020.

An action plan to meet the crisis was devised, with the concepts of conservation and recycling being given the most importance.

The concerned authorities soon plan to meet the chief minister to get the plan approved.

A three-day long Bangalore World Water Summit will be held from tomorrow through Friday to discuss the theme of “Urban Water Management” and the focus will be on issues of meeting with the rising demand of water, treatment of wastewater, and water conservation.

This summit will welcome experts from across the world in the field of water policy and issues relating to the governance of water will be widely discussed.

This is important for the city due to the current need of water infrastructure in the city to stop leaks and repair and replace old pipes.

The city cannot sustain itself on borewells forever and needs solutions to meet its rising demand of water.

Estimated growth in population and demand of water by the BWSSB

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