Global firm to draft city's water policy

World Resources Institute to work with various civic agencies

Amid projections that water shortage and “heat islands” will force people to abandon Bengaluru after 2025, the World Resources Institute (WRI) has taken up a study to arrive at an integrated water management plan to save the city.

Bengaluru, which lost 80% of surface water between 1990 and 2015, is not far from going bone dry thanks to urbanisation, the WRI study warns. The city gets 2,961 MLD (million litres per day) water against the demand for 3,347 MLD. “Groundwater, which is filling the gap currently, will disappear if we keep drawing 10 MLD and recharge only 2.5 MLD,” it says.

“We can still save Bengaluru. But a concerted effort should be made. For this, coordination among BWSSB, BDA, BBMP and lake conservation authority is essential,” said Jaya Dhindaw, Director, Sustainable Cities, WRI India.

The study shows that around 22 lakh people (25%) in the city, especially those in the areas that came under BBMP recently, have no piped water supply. The result is the rapid depletion of groundwater as concrete covers all lung spaces which also helped recharge water tables.

“Pumping Cauvery water to the city is a costly affair since Bengaluru is located 3,000 feet above the sea level. But more than 49% of that water is wasted as it is lost due to seepage or theft. At the same time, we are wasting more than 30% of used water. In this situation, the city can hardly fulfill the demand which is rising by 53 MLD every year,” Jaya said.

More than 80% of 20 tmcft rainwater is wasted in the city every year due to lack of rainwater harvesting (RWH) infrastructure, which in turn leads to urban flooding. The WRI study will come up with a comprehensive solution to utilise rainwater to recharge ground water.

WRI will have a tough time convincing the government agencies with the BDA revised master plan 2031 reducing the open spaces, which are necessary for recharging ground water besides preempting formation of urban heat island due to concentration of concrete structures.

The institute is using ‘Aqueduct City’, a new tool which also gathers data on water availability, demand, sewage recycling and urban flooding. It will come up with suggestions on the basis of this data.