Approach and solutions- Water crisis in Bangalore

As a blogger and a columnist in a newspaper it is still very pleasant to get e-mails like this below. 

Water Shortage – an Open well Rainwater Harvesting solution.

 

These are the days of water shortage. Krishnarajasagar (KRS dam on the Cauvery) is at an all time low in water level. Water rationing is round the corner.

 

Bangalore is well known for its open wells. So why don’t we revive and take care of our open wells?  Places like Malleswaram, Basavanagudi, Jayanagar and VV puram have large wells in the gardens of houses.

 

Of course, many old houses have been demolished giving way to apartment blocks. These depend on borewells and tanker supplies for their water needs. Occasionally BWSSB water is supplied.

 

I have a house in Jayanagar which is 50 years old. I have a well which is 35 feet deep and about 3 feet in diameter. Many years ago – around 15 years ago I installed rooftop Rain water harvesting structures. I collect around 1 lakh litres of rainwater each year of  three rainy seasons. I filter the collected water from the roof and feed it to the well. In about two weeks of rainfall, the well is full of filtered water. The attached photos will show the well brimming with water. These photos were taken last season.

 

I have estimated that I consume around 40,000 litres of water  each year from the well. The remaining 60,000 litres feed the ground water acquifers.  This is a substantial amount of water both for home consumption as well as ground water recharging. During the rainy season I am happy to shut off the BWSSB supply valve. When I use well water for all our needs, I not only save on my BWSSB bills but also precious Cauvery water which is now available for other users. 

 

The rain water harvesting solution is simple and one can do it oneself. It is a self help aid. The cost involved is only for the PVC pipes and filter. In my case I did the plumbing work myself.

 

I wish other citizens of our State help themselves and become self reliant as regards water needs. 

 

Kindly publicise and popularise this concept so that we can overcome the present water crisis.

 

Thanking you,

 

S. Chandra Shekar.

A Plan B for water to a thirsty city – Bangalore

The news on the monsoon front for Bangalore has been disappointing. After the least rainy month for 117 years which was June, July too has seen hardly any downpour in the first 10 days. The clouds are picking up and it is also true that the rainiest months are ahead being August, September and October. The Kabini reservoir which is one of the first to fill up and overflow is almost at rock bottom. It is from here that water flows and joins the Cauvery before it is pumped into the city to reach our taps. It is said that the prayer for rains in the Thanjavur area of the Cauvery delta, the rice bowl of South India, is for it to rain in Mercara so that the Cauvery will flow and reach their fields. Similarly Bangaloreans must pray for rain in Wynad as much as they pray for rain in their own city.

Apart from prayers there should be a Plan B for a low monsoon. What is that? As of now it is not clear that the city has a Plan A let alone a Plan B to distribute water to reach all its citizens. However here is what a Plan B could look like.

Make rainwater harvesting mandatory for all buildings in the city. The lesser the rain that falls on the city, the more precious the water that will be harvested and put to productive use. Every building should become a contributor to the water requirement of the city rather than only placing a demand on it.

Take up de-silting and improvement of all the tanks in the city on a war footing. Here is an opportunity masquerading as a crisis. When citizens have realized the scarcity of water it is for the government to wake up and make plans which are implementable in the short run and which focus on storing water and increasing the groundwater table to recharge the aquifer as and when it rains.

Make it mandatory for all parks and medians to use treated waste-water only. Stop the wasteful use of fresh groundwater in the 1000 or more parks in the city and use the bore-well water to supply it for domestic requirements. There is plenty of treated waste-water in the city which is not being used and the opportunity presents itself to put this to good use for construction activities also such as the metro and the large apartments being built in the city.

Quickly implement the groundwater bill and make sure that groundwater is treated and used as a community property resource rather than as a private good. Take over the large yielding bore-wells and make them part of the city distribution. Every bore-well must be mandated to have a recharge structure and as much of rainwater as possible to be recharged into the ground.

Storm-water drains must be made sewage free and those that are made sewage free should then have recharge structures in them to ensure that storm-water too is put to productive use.

Apartments and layouts – They play an important part in demand management and reducing demand by 20 % should be easy. Metering of each flat should be taken up quickly as is putting the waste-water treatment plants to good use. Treated waste-water must become the first charge for non-potable use and layouts must be mandated to put them into place and start using them immediately.

Watering of lawns and washing of vehicles should be banned and a social mobilization created against such waste quickly.

Individual homes:  My friend from the neighbourhood and 14 years old Aravind suggests that school- children should be involved in water conservation efforts by their parents. One bucket of water for a bath is enough he says. By not getting clothes dirty much water can be saved in washing them and he also suggests that boys should clean their own plates and cups with as less water as possible in homes and schools.

The fragility of our water systems, their dependence on rain  and the linkages of tanks and lakes and groundwater is clear to us. A crisis they is also spelled as opportunity in Chinese Mandarin. Will we make use of the opportunity? Will we put in place a Plan B ?

A Plan B for water to a thirsty city – Bangalore

The news on the monsoon front for Bangalore has been disappointing. After the least rainy month for 117 years which was June, July too has seen hardly any downpour in the first 10 days. The clouds are picking up and it is also true that the rainiest months are ahead being August, September and October. The Kabini reservoir which is one of the first to fill up and overflow is almost at rock bottom. It is from here that water flows and joins the Cauvery before it is pumped into the city to reach our taps. It is said that the prayer for rains in the Thanjavur area of the Cauvery delta, the rice bowl of South India, is for it to rain in Mercara so that the Cauvery will flow and reach their fields. Similarly Bangaloreans must pray for rain in Wynad as much as they pray for rain in their own city.

Apart from prayers there should be a Plan B for a low monsoon. What is that? As of now it is not clear that the city has a Plan A let alone a Plan B to distribute water to reach all its citizens. However here is what a Plan B could look like.

Make rainwater harvesting mandatory for all buildings in the city. The lesser the rain that falls on the city, the more precious the water that will be harvested and put to productive use. Every building should become a contributor to the water requirement of the city rather than only placing a demand on it.

Take up de-silting and improvement of all the tanks in the city on a war footing. Here is an opportunity masquerading as a crisis. When citizens have realized the scarcity of water it is for the government to wake up and make plans which are implementable in the short run and which focus on storing water and increasing the groundwater table to recharge the aquifer as and when it rains.

Make it mandatory for all parks and medians to use treated waste-water only. Stop the wasteful use of fresh groundwater in the 1000 or more parks in the city and use the bore-well water to supply it for domestic requirements. There is plenty of treated waste-water in the city which is not being used and the opportunity presents itself to put this to good use for construction activities also such as the metro and the large apartments being built in the city.

Quickly implement the groundwater bill and make sure that groundwater is treated and used as a community property resource rather than as a private good. Take over the large yielding bore-wells and make them part of the city distribution. Every bore-well must be mandated to have a recharge structure and as much of rainwater as possible to be recharged into the ground.

Storm-water drains must be made sewage free and those that are made sewage free should then have recharge structures in them to ensure that storm-water too is put to productive use.

Apartments and layouts – They play an important part in demand management and reducing demand by 20 % should be easy. Metering of each flat should be taken up quickly as is putting the waste-water treatment plants to good use. Treated waste-water must become the first charge for non-potable use and layouts must be mandated to put them into place and start using them immediately.

Watering of lawns and washing of vehicles should be banned and a social mobilization created against such waste quickly.

Individual homes:  My friend from the neighbourhood and 14 years old Aravind suggests that school- children should be involved in water conservation efforts by their parents. One bucket of water for a bath is enough he says. By not getting clothes dirty much water can be saved in washing them and he also suggests that boys should clean their own plates and cups with as less water as possible in homes and schools.

The fragility of our water systems, their dependence on rain  and the linkages of tanks and lakes and groundwater is clear to us. A crisis they is also spelled as opportunity in Chinese Mandarin. Will we make use of the opportunity? Will we put in place a Plan B ?

Trees of Bangalore – the Pongaemia (karanj- hongey)

The Pongaemia Pinnata is a lovely , hardy tree found all over Bangalore. It provides shade in summer . Its flowers and leaves are very rich soil fertilizers. The seeds are pressed for oil and have been traditionally used for lighting lamps. Now they are also used as a bio-diesel. The tree harbours many birds and insects and is fabled in the Tamil language especially.

Click here for another video ->     Pongaemia and livelihood

Bangalore- Urban water issues for the poor

Near the Byatrayanpura zonal office of the Bangalore Corporation,is this ‘mini water supply scheme’ as a bore well connected to a cistern is called in this part of the country. People in the suburbs, especially in the low income bracket, get water once in two days near their house. Tis water is apparently not good for drinking or cooking. The dal (lentils) does not get cooked according to this lady. So they collect good water from this cistern. That means queuing up with their plastic pots at 4.00 a.m. in the morning for everybody’s quota of 2 pots of good water for drinking and cooking. Again the process is repeated at 12.00 noon but this time for water which comes in the evening.

Fights and disagreements are regular as is jumping the queue and stealing of pots too. The pots themselves are made of low grade plastic and are not fit for potable water purpose. They crack in the sunlight and need to be replaced ever so often.

Shiva, who helped bring Ganga down from the heavens, taking her force on his matted locks also looks on benignly. The very God’s seem powerless in this day of water shortage.

Question is will not 24/7 water supply help these people? Will they not spend less time and money even if water is privatized as some people claim it will be or already is? For 2 pots of water the lady spends at least 6 hours of her time daily. Even at Rs 5 /- an hour as opportunity cost this translates to Rs 30/- for 30 litres or Rs 1 /- a litre.

Per kilolitre the cost would be Rs 1000/- . Nowhere has this cost been imposed on people by private sector, but this is the cost imposed by the State here with its sheer inefficiency of delivery of goods low quality and even less quantity and no accountability.

Can we not change the system with even private participants who are held accountable for their actions? When shall we do that? When the human right to water is legislated perhaps and when governments are open and transparent in their dealings. On the one hand we have an insensitive state and on the other a passive community not willing to demand what is their right.

Brick aqueduct at Hessarghatta-Water history of Bangalore

In 1896 was inaugurated the first water supply scheme for Bangalore from the newly constructed Hessarghatta reservoir on the Arkavathy river. A brick aqueduct brought water to a distance of 14 kilometres from where it ws then pumped to the city. This beautiful heritage structure lies derelict and neglected . Brick have been stolen and entire sections obliterated. Can we do something to retain some parts of it and preserve our water heritage ?

The aqueduct spanned the river itself and carried forward to finally arrive in the city at Malleswaram

The section of the aquaduct is also interesting. Made of bricks in lime mortar and with a base of granite slabs with lime concrete on top it seems to have been built completely without cement