The per capita water available today is 17,000 cubic metres each year. In 1991, it was 23,000. In just two decades, the water available for each person has shrunk by 6,000 cubic metres.
The per capita water available today is 17,000 cubic metres each year. In 1991, it was 23,000. In just two decades, the water available for each person has shrunk by 6,000 cubic metres.
Though it is a global problem, the conditions in the city call for special concern. At an International Seminar on Water inaugurated at Nimhans on Friday, chairman of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) PB Ramamurthy said, “The time to act is now, it’s time to plan and prepare.”
A recent study by the Indian Institute of Science predicted that water sources in the city might last only for five years. It is estimated that by 2050, each person on the planet would have to make do with a mere 1,000 cubic metre of water. Despite reports and evidence of the need to plan for the future, there seems to be little but complacency on the part of the city’s civic bodies. While there is urgent need to recycle water, there is also a huge dearth of infrastructure for water treatment. Many participants said they had attempted to partner with BWSSB in setting up water purification plants, but the response was not encouraging.
President of Adeco Sicec, Dr Francesco Salimbeni, often referred to as the ‘patriarch of industrial waste water management’, said his firm had established a `585-crore desalination plant at Nemmeli, near Chennai. He said an office would also be established in Bangalore. “India will be leading as a major hub in the water treatment sector in the next 10 years,” he said.
Ramamurthy said, “The water treatment plants are complex and expensive. Currently, maintenance departments do basic repairs in-house, leaving more sophisticated works to contractors. As systems get more complex, more computers are used. Computer specialists often come limited knowledge about the working of a water plant. Training is required to bridge that gap. There is also the need to make the plants more self-sustaining and less polluting.”
If water recycling were more common, Bangalore might not have to draw large quantities of water from long distances.
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