Civic body bags 3 awards for water preservation efforts

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bagged three awards at the Water Digest Water Awards (WADA) 2017-18, held on March 21 in Delhi, for treating, recycling and conserving water. The Water Digest, a magazine on water and wastewater industry, annually awards organisations, NGOs and government bodies for preserving water.

The BMC received the Best Infrastructure Pioneer award for its Gundvali water Pipeline in Bhandup Tunnell. The second award was Water Reuse Project of the Year for Panjarpur Recycling plant (Government Sector) and the third was Best Water Treatment Project for its Bhandup plant that treats around 900 MLD water.

In a bid to phase out the above-the-ground British-era pipelines that carry water from Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna and Tansa to the Bhandup Water Treatment Plant, BMC laid a massive tunnel that collects all the water below the ground at a point and brings it to the plant at a faster speed. This has helped reduce transition loss due to leakages and tampering. The Bhandup Treatment Plant is one of the largest plants. The civic body has also installed solar power systems at the plant that generate around 2.5 megawatts of power that are consumed within the complex and outside too.

The WADA was started in 2006 and it is supported by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, UNESCO, Central Ground Water Board, Central Water Commissioner, and the National Mission for Clean Ganga.