Despite govt push, few apartments able to sell treated water

Bengaluru: It has been a year since the state government allowed apartment complexes in Bengaluru to sell 50% of treated water from their sewage treatment plants (STPs), but only a handful have been able to do so.

While the harsh summer last year prompted authorities to encourage the reuse of treated water, not much has changed on the ground a year later.

"While the policy has come through, facilitating it on the ground is a difficult process. There are many challenges in promoting trade, and apprehensions about water quality remain,” said Vikram Rai, General Secretary of the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), adding that only a few apartment complexes have managed to sell treated water so far.

Transportation is another major hurdle.

“The main concern is the transportation of treated water. Making it cost-effective is a challenge,” said Shreya Nath, Managing Partner of the Urban Water Programme at Well Labs.

She added that water quality is also a concern among potential buyers and highlighted the need to set clear standards and increase the frequency of testing. “Wastewater testing is not the same as drinking water testing — it cannot be done just once a month. The frequency has to be carefully determined,” she said.

Following the policy change allowing the sale of treated water, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BAF to facilitate the initiative.

However, BWSSB officials said discussions are still ongoing with various industry bodies.

"The construction industry is one of the biggest consumers of treated water. We have even held discussions with the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), but they have raised concerns over water quality. As a result, we are trying to rope in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to certify the water quality,” said Ram Prasath Manohar V, Chairman of the BWSSB.

With over 3,500 decentralised STPs, Bengaluru has the highest number in any city, and reusing treated water from these plants is considered vital to ensuring the city’s water security.

29 lakes filled with treated water

Nearly a year after announcing that 29 lakes in Bengaluru would be filled with treated water, the BWSSB has managed to lay pipelines to supply water to 12 lakes using excess water from apartment STPs and to another 17 lakes with water from BWSSB-managed STPs.

The initiative was announced last summer, during one of the city’s worst water crises.