Date:26/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/26/stories/2007062659630400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Water rationing looms large over Bangalore

Swathi Shivanand

BWSSB toying with the idea of quota system

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is considering the possibility of rationing water supply to its 5.5 lakh consumers.

Explaining the move, still at a nascent stage, a senior BWSSB official told The Hindu: “We are trying to introduce a mechanism where we could turn off the tap whenever a customer reaches his/her quota of water. For example, if a customer is allocated 1,000 kilo litres of water a month and consumes it earlier, then we want to be able to cut water supply.”

Electronic water meters with the ability to regulate consumption will be installed.

The BWSSB, three months ago, asked a Dubai-based company to carry out a pilot project on a small scale. But the project had teething problems with the company unable to carry it out successfully for a variety of reasons, including software glitches.

“We are willing to pay as much as the company demands to see that the project becomes successful,” said the official. The water board had invited bids from private companies to implement the project, but only the Dubai-based company responded.

If implemented, Bangalore will be the first city in the country and among the few in the world to introduce such a water rationing measure, the official said.

As of now, the BWSSB has a tariff-based system with differential rates depending on the level of consumption.

The move to ration water gains importance in the light of the severe water crisis plaguing the city, which is only likely to grow. Water level at Thippagondanahalli reservoir has reached an abysmal 12.8 feet and its contribution to meet the water needs of the city is down to six per cent. “We are drawing about 30 million litres per day (MLD) of water and are praying that it will last till June 30, by which time hopefully the monsoons will arrive,” sources said.

At present, 810 MLD of water from the Cauvery is being pumped into the city to meet the needs of 55 lakh people, when the population stands around 70 lakh. With the city expanding, BWSSB officials say rationing is probably the only way to provide equitable water supply.