Milestone:
April 13, 2024: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Apartment Federation (BAF). Under this agreement, the water board will assist apartments in selling their excess treated water by purchasing it and making it available through BWSSB’s tankers.
April 8, 2024: In a meeting with bulk consumers, BWSSB Chairman Ramprasath Manohar V made the following announcements:
1) Consumers utilising over 40 lakh litres of water per month will face a 10 per cent reduction in their water supply from April 10.
2) Formulation of a five point strategy to encourage prudent water usage includes adopting water-saving practises, maximising the utilisation of treated water, leveraging technology for maintenance and borewell drilling, implementing rainwater harvesting systems, and fostering awareness among stakeholders.
3) A new water-related grievance mechanism system where city residents can now lodge complaints directly to the BWSSB chairman every Friday
April 2, 2024: The BWSSB announced that they would be supplying recycled water for construction work, in order to reduce the dependency on borewells.
2nd March, 2024: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that the BWSSB will be regulating all private water tankers and borewells. Any private tanker or borewell will now be required to register with the BWSSB before 7th March 2024.
Demand BWSSB and BBMP to adopt and implement concrete measures to ensure adequate water supply for Bengaluru’s residents.
Addressed to:
Dr Ram Prasath Manohar, Chairman BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board)
Tushar Girinath, Chief Commissioner BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike)
DK Shivakumar Minister for Water Resources Department Karnataka
Our demands:
Short-term
How can we get water to the people now?
BBMP must regulate and subsidise the prices of all Water Tankers.
BBMP and BWSSB should actively communicate water supply timings and durations prior to water supply cuts via SMS or calls.
BWSSB should ensure that all wastewater is treated and supplied to households and commercial establishments for non-consumption purposes.
Medium-term
What can ensure water supply in the near future/coming years?
Commercial establishments and RWAs must ensure adherence to water conservation policies such as the BWSSB Rainwater Harvesting Regulations and Guidelines. Harvested rainwater must be stored and used directly.
Introduce metering of water usage for each residential unit to maintain accountability for water usage.
Mandating industries and commercial establishments to use only tanker-treated water for non-consumption purposes.
Run awareness campaigns and issue advisories to educate residents about water conservation practices.
Long-term
Looking at the sustainability of water supply in the future.
Creating strategies and systems for increased percolation for the regeneration of deep aquifers.
Implementation of restoration and rejuvenation plans for lakes and implementing strategies for the long-term maintenance of lakes and tanks.
Identify and set up recharge pits across the city for rainwater percolation.
Sponge parks have to be set up across the city.
BBMP should make its existing long-term plan for tackling the water crisis publicly available.
Bengaluru has been facing a water crisis for over four years, and things are only projected to get worse! Citizens have been demanding better management of water resources, but our pleas have constantly been ignored.
Complaints of infrequent water supply have become increasingly common in areas like Hebbal, Banaswadi, and JC Nagar. Water supply schedules have also become more irregular with shorter hours of availability.
Bengaluru currently has access to about 1,850 million litres per day (MLD) but needs at least 1,680 MLD more to meet its current and growing water needs. Due to groundwater depletion and poor monsoons, borewells are at risk of drying up, impacting high-density areas reliant on them. BWSSB has identified 257 areas facing potential water scarcity.
Currently, an estimated 20% of Bengaluru city is reliant on private water tankers and faces exploitation at the hands of private tanker organisations that charge unreasonably high prices for water supply. Residents in some areas are forced to pay INR 2000 and upwards to their tankers per month. These prices will skyrocket during the summer.
BWSSB officials have claimed that poor monsoon is the reason for this drop in the water table. While poor monsoon exacerbates the problem, it is not the root cause! If authorities want to sustainably deal with Bengaluru’s water scarcity, authorities must ensure implementation of policies regulating the digging of borewells, building effective rainwater harvesting systems, and rejuvenating the city’s lake water.
With summers looming ahead, Bengaluru has little time. We need the authorities to take action before Bengaluru’s citizens face the brunt of an extreme water crisis!
Sources:
The Sunday Read: BBMP says it will not regulate water tanker prices ‘for now’
Rain Water Harvesting Amendments, Regulations and Guidelines
You can also make a contribution of your choice to support our work. Any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way in keeping up our efforts for a sustainable Bengaluru. Support now.
Milestone:
April 13, 2024: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Apartment Federation (BAF). Under this agreement, the water board will assist apartments in selling their excess treated water by purchasing it and making it available through BWSSB’s tankers.
April 8, 2024: In a meeting with bulk consumers, BWSSB Chairman Ramprasath Manohar V made the following announcements:
1) Consumers utilising over 40 lakh litres of water per month will face a 10 per cent reduction in their water supply from April 10.
2) Formulation of a five point strategy to encourage prudent water usage includes adopting water-saving practises, maximising the utilisation of treated water, leveraging technology for maintenance and borewell drilling, implementing rainwater harvesting systems, and fostering awareness among stakeholders.
3) A new water-related grievance mechanism system where city residents can now lodge complaints directly to the BWSSB chairman every Friday
April 2, 2024: The BWSSB announced that they would be supplying recycled water for construction work, in order to reduce the dependency on borewells.
2nd March, 2024: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that the BWSSB will be regulating all private water tankers and borewells. Any private tanker or borewell will now be required to register with the BWSSB before 7th March 2024.
Demand BWSSB and BBMP to adopt and implement concrete measures to ensure adequate water supply for Bengaluru’s residents.
Addressed to:
Dr Ram Prasath Manohar, Chairman BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board)
Tushar Girinath, Chief Commissioner BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike)
DK Shivakumar Minister for Water Resources Department Karnataka
Our demands:
Short-term
How can we get water to the people now?
BBMP must regulate and subsidise the prices of all Water Tankers.
BBMP and BWSSB should actively communicate water supply timings and durations prior to water supply cuts via SMS or calls.
BWSSB should ensure that all wastewater is treated and supplied to households and commercial establishments for non-consumption purposes.
Medium-term
What can ensure water supply in the near future/coming years?
Commercial establishments and RWAs must ensure adherence to water conservation policies such as the BWSSB Rainwater Harvesting Regulations and Guidelines. Harvested rainwater must be stored and used directly.
Introduce metering of water usage for each residential unit to maintain accountability for water usage.
Mandating industries and commercial establishments to use only tanker-treated water for non-consumption purposes.
Run awareness campaigns and issue advisories to educate residents about water conservation practices.
Long-term
Looking at the sustainability of water supply in the future.
Creating strategies and systems for increased percolation for the regeneration of deep aquifers.
Implementation of restoration and rejuvenation plans for lakes and implementing strategies for the long-term maintenance of lakes and tanks.
Identify and set up recharge pits across the city for rainwater percolation.
Sponge parks have to be set up across the city.
BBMP should make its existing long-term plan for tackling the water crisis publicly available.
Bengaluru has been facing a water crisis for over four years, and things are only projected to get worse! Citizens have been demanding better management of water resources, but our pleas have constantly been ignored.
Complaints of infrequent water supply have become increasingly common in areas like Hebbal, Banaswadi, and JC Nagar. Water supply schedules have also become more irregular with shorter hours of availability.
Bengaluru currently has access to about 1,850 million litres per day (MLD) but needs at least 1,680 MLD more to meet its current and growing water needs. Due to groundwater depletion and poor monsoons, borewells are at risk of drying up, impacting high-density areas reliant on them. BWSSB has identified 257 areas facing potential water scarcity.
Currently, an estimated 20% of Bengaluru city is reliant on private water tankers and faces exploitation at the hands of private tanker organisations that charge unreasonably high prices for water supply. Residents in some areas are forced to pay INR 2000 and upwards to their tankers per month. These prices will skyrocket during the summer.
BWSSB officials have claimed that poor monsoon is the reason for this drop in the water table. While poor monsoon exacerbates the problem, it is not the root cause! If authorities want to sustainably deal with Bengaluru’s water scarcity, authorities must ensure implementation of policies regulating the digging of borewells, building effective rainwater harvesting systems, and rejuvenating the city’s lake water.
With summers looming ahead, Bengaluru has little time. We need the authorities to take action before Bengaluru’s citizens face the brunt of an extreme water crisis!
Sources:
The Sunday Read: BBMP says it will not regulate water tanker prices ‘for now’
Rain Water Harvesting Amendments, Regulations and Guidelines
You can also make a contribution of your choice to support our work. Any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way in keeping up our efforts for a sustainable Bengaluru. Support now.