JOIN USBetter late than never. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on Tuesday took its first step towards addressing the growing demand for water in the City.
The Board signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore Co-operation Enterprise (SCE) and Temasek Foundation (TF), an investment arm of Singapore government, in developing alternative sources of water by recycling and reusing treated water in Bangalore.
Although, there is no concrete project plan except the possibility of exploring Vrishabhavathi Valley, the Board has taken the initiative to avail of technical guidance from Singapore. It is the leading city in the world with regard to waste water treatment, recycling and re-use, particularly in the ‘indirect potable reuse’ of treated water, termed as ‘NEWater.’
BWSSB Chairperson Gaurav Gupta said that the Board would be exhausting the availability of the Cauvery water to the City after the commissioning of the Stage IV phase II project in the next week. With this project, the Board will be drawing a total of 19 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) annually to supply to the City.
Gupta said that they were planning to develop a project across the Vrishabhavathi Valley, where the Board already had five sewage treatment plants along the course of the river. The Board will be exploring the possibilities of setting up a reuse treatment system. He said there would be no direct consumption, but there are plans to treat the water by setting up a reverse osmosis (RO) plant, he added.
As per the MoU, SCE and TF will be rendering their technical cooperation to reuse of waste water.
It will also provide assistance in educating the citizens about safe potable use of recycled water.