Water Supply

On the 12 year anniversary of Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) being made mandatory in Bengaluru, S Vishwanath and Shubha Ramachandran talk about challenges and opportunities of sustainable water supply.

The STP now produces clean treated water and 80-100 kgs of sludge cake a day, which farmers nearby use as fertiliser.

An apartment off Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru used to spend Rs 1-2 lakh on tanker water supply every month. But with rainwater harvesting, they no longer need to buy water for almost half the year.

Private tanker operators in Bengaluru often draw water from dubious sources and charge predatory prices during summer. Here are some suggestions on how they can be reined in.

In just two years, ‘A Million Wells’ movement has inspired Bengalureans to dig over 1.2 lakh recharge wells. If more citizens take up the cause, it could very well solve the city’s water crisis.

Azima, a resident of Banashankari, says water comes to the public tap in her locality only once in three days. Forget social distancing, even fights happen here for water.

Handwashing and personal hygiene are critical to protecting ourselves from coronavirus. But as summer approaches, Bengaluru faces the threat of water scarcity again. How can authorities and citizens handle this problem?

While Cauvery water is usually used as drinking water in homes that have water purifiers, about 2/3 of the city has no access to such piped water. They depend on packaged drinking water cans for drinking water needs, but these cans have been scarcely available since the lockdown.

That Bengaluru gets into a regular water crisis, is something we all know. But whose job is it to protect our water resources? It’s our state pollution control board. And here’s why KSPCB is incapable of bailing us out.

With summer approaching, and with COVID risks, there is more demand for water. Residents are worried tanker water shortage can create havoc.

As per environmental jurisprudence, the polluter has to pay. But apartment STPs (sewage treatment plants) are usually set up and approved by five different players. So who’s the real polluter when an STP is defective?

KSPCB has been asking apartments in the city to pay up lakhs as compensation for defective sewage treatment plants. But the Board itself is responsible for approving many plants that had design and fabrication issues.