<p>Replacing pipelines, which requires investment worth crores, is often touted as a solution to reduce about 46% of the water lost in the city. <br /><br />Springing shockwaves at a time when the state is in the midst of a legal battle over sharing Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu, it is now revealed that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has no account of the over 100 million litres per day (MLD) of water that is pumped in from the Cauvery river basin to the city through a single water distribution line. <br /><br />The water loss of over 100 MLD is not small, especially from a pipeline that was commissioned in 2012 to supply water to Bengaluru. <br /><br />If the BWSSB sets this anomaly right, it can generate an additional monthly revenue of not less than Rs 8 crore, considering the unit cost of Rs 26 per kilo litre. <br />However, the BWSSB does not have any clue as to where this whopping 1.3 tmcft of water is going. Is it a case of organised water theft, faulty metres or improper water audit? There is no answer. <br /><br />Loss in new project <br /><br />To meet the increasing demand for water, the BWSSB took up the Rs 3,500-crore project to augment about 500 MLD of water under stage IV, phase II of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme (CWSS). The project, which involved setting up of a 100-km water distribution network, was commissioned in 2012. With this, the board was supplying about 1,400 MLD of water to Bengaluru under its CWSS Stage I, II, III and IV projects. But not all of the 500 MLD of water is accounted for.</p>.<p><br />A senior BWSSB official said, “There is water loss of more than 100 MLD in the new pipeline. But there is no such problem with the other four pipelines, even though they are very old. It needs immediate attention.” This pipeline supplies water to eastern, southeastern, western and northwestern parts of the city, covering three BWSSB divisions, he added. <br /><br />BWSSB chairman Tushar Girinath was the first to notice such a huge loss during a water audit meeting. “The issue is being investigated at the macro-level. We have assigned this job to a third party, which will fix water metres at different levels to find out the difference, including the water audit. This will bring down the total water loss from 46% to at least 35% and increase our revenue, he told DH, adding the report is likely to be ready in a month. </p>
<p>Replacing pipelines, which requires investment worth crores, is often touted as a solution to reduce about 46% of the water lost in the city. <br /><br />Springing shockwaves at a time when the state is in the midst of a legal battle over sharing Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu, it is now revealed that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has no account of the over 100 million litres per day (MLD) of water that is pumped in from the Cauvery river basin to the city through a single water distribution line. <br /><br />The water loss of over 100 MLD is not small, especially from a pipeline that was commissioned in 2012 to supply water to Bengaluru. <br /><br />If the BWSSB sets this anomaly right, it can generate an additional monthly revenue of not less than Rs 8 crore, considering the unit cost of Rs 26 per kilo litre. <br />However, the BWSSB does not have any clue as to where this whopping 1.3 tmcft of water is going. Is it a case of organised water theft, faulty metres or improper water audit? There is no answer. <br /><br />Loss in new project <br /><br />To meet the increasing demand for water, the BWSSB took up the Rs 3,500-crore project to augment about 500 MLD of water under stage IV, phase II of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme (CWSS). The project, which involved setting up of a 100-km water distribution network, was commissioned in 2012. With this, the board was supplying about 1,400 MLD of water to Bengaluru under its CWSS Stage I, II, III and IV projects. But not all of the 500 MLD of water is accounted for.</p>.<p><br />A senior BWSSB official said, “There is water loss of more than 100 MLD in the new pipeline. But there is no such problem with the other four pipelines, even though they are very old. It needs immediate attention.” This pipeline supplies water to eastern, southeastern, western and northwestern parts of the city, covering three BWSSB divisions, he added. <br /><br />BWSSB chairman Tushar Girinath was the first to notice such a huge loss during a water audit meeting. “The issue is being investigated at the macro-level. We have assigned this job to a third party, which will fix water metres at different levels to find out the difference, including the water audit. This will bring down the total water loss from 46% to at least 35% and increase our revenue, he told DH, adding the report is likely to be ready in a month. </p>
