rural and urban water supply and sanitation

57

RURAL AND URBAN WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION


O Varuna deva, may water and flora bond us in friendshipforever

-Rig Veda:Varuniya Samhita 6-22

58

STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT - 2003


Current Status

Drinking Water Supply

Issues & Impacts

Trends & Projections

Hotspots

Causes

Sanitation

Issues & Impacts

Trends & Projections

Action Plan

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CURRENT STATUS

It is estimated that poor quality and inadequate quantityof water accounts for about 10 percent of the total burdenof disease in the state. Waterborne diseases occur mainlydue to lack of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.In india every year large number of deaths of childrenunder the age of five is attributed to poor quality of drinkingwater. Apart from health effects, inadequate quantity ofwater supply and sanitation services leave adverseimpacts on the environment mainly leading tocontamination of soil and water due to stagnation ofsewage (Government of Karnataka, Task Force on Health,2001). A recently published World Health Organisationreport places diarrhoel diseases at sixth place in the listof global killers and third in the list of morbidity.

According to the World Health Organisation and UnitedNations Children’s Education Fund (2000) estimatesglobally, 1.1 billion people lack access to any form ofimproved water supply within 1 kilometere of their homeand 2.4 billion people lack access to some form ofimproved disposal of excreta.

Groundwater is the major source of drinking water in thestate and in rural areas over 90 percent of the drinkingwater supply schemes are based on ground water. Of the208 urban local bodies under the Karnataka Urban WaterSupply and Drainage Board, 151 depend on river waterwhereas 47 depend on ground water.

Groundwater levels are fast declining in the state with 34

taluks considered as critical due to over exploitation.Besides, lacunae associated with operation, maintenanceand poor distribution systems, also add to the problem.All these pressures limit the availability of safe drinkingwater.

Sanitation facilities like sewerage system, storm waterdrain, latrines (public or private), and other communitysanitation services are important in maintaining goodhygiene and clean environment. Factors such as

Sources of drinking water in ULBs– 2004

Initiatives of the Government

The Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation for Protection ofSources of Drinking Water) Act, 1999 of the RuralDevelopment and Panchyat Raj Department has come intoforce from December 2003. This Act prohibits sinking ofborewells within 500 meters of public sources of drinking water.

Swajaldhara, a centrally sponsored programme based oncommunity participation to operate drinking water supplyschemes has been launched.

Nirmala Grama Yojana is under implementation since 1995to build household latrines in rural areas. Under thisprogramme, household toilets in the villages would besanctioned with a maximum financial assistance of Rs 2000or 80 percent of the unit cost.

Swachcha Grama programme has been initiated to promotetotal village sanitation and all round development of villages.The Panchasutras for total village sanitation include

paving of internal roads and streets in the village,

construction of efficient sullage and storm water drainage,

provision of community compost yards and removal ofmanure pits from the dwelling areas of the village,

provision of smokeless chullas/bio-gas for all households,

construction of household latrines/ group latrines withindividual ownership, community latrine complexes, andinstitutional latrines in schools.

Under the Sub-mission programme launched by the RajivGandhi National Drinking Water Mission, safe drinking wateris being provided to villages affected by Fluoride, Nitrate andBrackishness.

National River Conservation Plan is being implemented toprevent pollution in the catchment area of river Cauvery andBhadra caused by towns situated in the basins.

The state Government has launched on pilot basis a ruralwater and sanitation programme called the SampurnaNairmalya Yojana to cover Mysore, Dakshina Kanada andBellary districts.

The Department of Ecology and Environment has directedthat drinking water should not be used for non potablepurposes like washing, gardening, servicing of vehicles etc.

Source: Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board

Sources Number of ULBs

Bore wells (BW) 40Tank 5Open well + BW 6Open well 1BW + Tank 5River 112BW + River 34Tank + River 4BW + Tank + River 1

208

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population pressure, discharge of effluents, addition ofagricultural chemicals into water bodies and inappropriatewater pricing mechanisms have contributed todeterioration of water quality, depletion of water andunhygienic sanitation.

Apart from adequate quantity , quality of water is animportant aspect as poor quality of water hasrepercussions on health and environment. The quality ofgroundwater is poor in 37 percent of rural habitations dueto contamination with fluoride, nitrate and iron. Surfacewater is also not free from pollution due to developmentactivities.

In order to provide drinking water as per the norms fixedat the rate of 55 litres per capita per day in rural areas, as

many as 2,18,703 different drinking water supply schemes,including 1.81 lakh Borewells with hand pump scheme,20.75 thousand Mini water supply scheme and 16,000piped water supply scheme have been created by the RuralDevelopment and Panchayat Raj Department uptoOctober 2003. The type of water supply scheme to betaken up is decided on the basis of the total population ofthe villages/habitation. Those villages having a populationof 1000 and above are provided with piped water supplyscheme. Villages having population between 500 and 1000are provided with a mini water supply scheme. The othervillages with population less than 500 are provided withborewells fitted with hand pumps. The above criteria ishowever relaxed in deserving cases wherevillages\habitations lie in areas having problems of highfluoride content and other problems.

About 64 percent of rural habitations are covered with morethan 55 litres per capita per day of water supply. However,nearly 34 percent of the habitations are yet to attain thelevel of 55 litres per capita per day water supply.

Water supply norms for urban areas of Karnataka*

* Norms stipulated by Central Public Health Engineering andEnvironmental Organisation

Habitations covered by drinking water supply in rural Karnataka

Per capita water supply in different Municipalities\Corporation areas in Karnataka 2004

Figures in red indicate inadequate water supplyNote: The Norms fixed for Class I towns is 135 LPCD

Level of drinking water supply (LPCD)in rural Karnataka- Oct 2003

Source RDPR, Department 2003

Source: RDPR department 2004

Year Fully covered % to total Partially

covered % to total Not covered % to total Total

1999 30800 54.34 25037 44.17 845 1.49 566822000 33135 58.46 23482 41.43 65 0.11 566822001 34562 60.98 22120 39.02 0 0 566822002 36187 63.84 20495 36.16 0 0 56682

Service levels of water

Number of habitations

0 LPCD - 1 to 10 695

11 to 55 19,273 Above 55 36,714

Total 56,682

Name of the Municipal Corporations

Level of Water Supply (in

LPCD)Hubli-Dharwad 100Gulbarga 86Belgaum 85Mysore 141Mangalore 152Kolar 45Kolar City 56Tumkur City 66Mandya 60Hassan 115Chickmagalur 50Udupi 50Bhadravati 110Shimoga 105Davangere 51Chitradurga 70Gadag-Batgeri 85Bijapur 100

Size of Population Class of ULB Norm (Litre per capita per day)

Above 1 Lakh Class - I 13520000 - 1 Lakh Class - II & III 100Upto 20000 Class - IV, V, VI 70

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Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board is responsible for providing water supply, sewerage system and sewage disposalin the Bangalore Metropolitan Area. Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has implemented and commissioned theCauvery Water Supply Scheme Stages I, II and III. 753 million litres per day of water is received every day in the city from theCauvery and Arkavathi sources. The Board is also maintaining 5850 borewells in the city. Since the Cauvery river is consideredas the reliable source for water supply, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has already implemented the CauveryWater Supply Scheme Stage IV, Phase 1 project for further augumentation of the water supply to Bangalore city by 270 millionlitres per day.

The per capita water supply in the city is about 100 to 110 litres per capita per day. The distribution system within the cityparticularly the core areas is 70 to100 years old and water quality has been affected by corrosion of the pipes. In addition, thishas resulted in leakage and loss of water to the extend of 35 to 40 percent .

Master plan: Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has taken up preparation of a Master Plan for Bangalore watersupply and sewerage with a project horizon upto 2025 covering 1200 square kilometers. It aims at improving the capacity ofdelivery system, providing proper sewage facilities and environment sanitation. The Master Plan also envisages institutionalcapacity building and providing specialist input advice to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board for enhancing itsEnvironment Management System. As part of the Master Plan, three pilot projects have already been taken up in the city.

Sources of water supply and potentialin Bangalore

Aerial view of Yelahanka tertiary treatment plantAerial view of 270 MLD water treatment plant atTorekadanahalli

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board targetsdistribution loss

In order to reduce the distribution losses and ensure enhancedsupply of water, the Bangalore Water Supply and SewerageBoard has launched Unaccounted for Water project. Theproject is first of its kind in India. By the end of the project,the distribution loss in the project area is expected to reducebelow 10 percent.

The pilot project area includes Vasanthnagar, Ulsoor, AustinTown, Richmond Town, Sivan Chetty Garden, Bharatinagar,Langford Gardens, Ashoknagar, Shivajinagar, CommercialStreet, Victoria Layout, Jogupalya, Income Tax Colony,Shantinagar, Neelasandra and Adugodi.

The project involves identification of water feeder lines,providing mega meters called District Area Meters, Trial holesto assess the location and condition of pipes, and also surveysat customer's point. Replacement of valves and corrodedpipelines, fixing of pressure gauges, conducting pressure zerotests, and minimum night flow measurement tests are alsobeing carried out as part of the project.

The project will be completed by the end of March 2004. ByJune the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board aimsto provide daily water supply to these areas.

Sl. No. Type of Source Potential

(MLD) Reliability

1 River Arkavathia. Hesarghatta 36b. TG Hally 148

Sub Total 1842 River Cauverya Stage I 135b Stage II 135c Stage IIII 270d Stage IV Phase 1 270 -

Sub Total 8103 Ground Water

a Public5850

borewells (800 motorised)

High in short term and low in

long term

b Private >72000 borewells

Low (Rain dependent)

High

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The Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board,which has the responsibility to provide drinking water andsanitation facilities to all urban areas, except Bangalore,has taken up various schemes to provide drinking water

and sanitation facilities to 208 urban local bodies. Urbanpopulation is covered with potable water supply to theextent of 78 percent, while about 24 percent of urbanpopulation is covered with underground drainage systemsas in March 2003.

Additionally, about 55 new water supply and 17 newunderground drainage schemes are being implementedin 2003-04 by the Karnataka Urban Water Supply andDrainage Board.

DRINKING WATER SUPPLY ISSUES AND IMPACTS

Availability of safe drinking water is a major problem havingenvironmental repercussions. More than 50 percent ofrural habitations in seven districts namely Belgaum (64.44percent), Bellary (57.28 percent), Dharwad (54.69

Rural water supply schemes and level of supply

Borewell with Handpumps - 91.7 percent of 470 ruralhabitations had less than 55 litres per capita per day.Mini Water Supply Schemes – Out of 646 schemes surveyed91.48 % reported less than 55 litres per capita per day.Piped Water Supply Schemes - 86.07 percent of 977 ruralhabitations had less than 55 litres per capita per day watersupplySource: High Power Committee Report, GoK, 2002

As many as 21 per cent of drinking water borewells, 7 percent of mini water schemes and 7 per cent of piped watersupply schemes were found to be defunct.(Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Ra,j 2001)

Status of water quality by habitations in Karnataka

Source: Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj survey-2002

Excess fluoride Brackishness Excess

NitrateExcess

IronBagalkote 624 414 65.3 21.29 24.92 5.21 13.88Bangalore (U) 1285 804 62.57 20.39 17.43 0 24.75Bangalore (R) 3394 1154 34 11.96 4.36 12.1 5.57Belgaum 1506 713 47.34 8.9 10.56 0.07 27.82Bellary 1168 644 55.14 41.87 7.79 3.25 2.23Bidar 812 217 26.72 4.56 6.9 15.2 0.12Bijapur 928 573 61.75 21.55 25.97 2.05 12.18C.R.nagar 830 659 79.4 4.1 3.25 51.2 20.84Chikkmagalore 3366 788 23.41 1.52 2.29 4.04 15.57Chitradurga 1369 1077 78.67 37.91 25.2 9.2 6.36D.Kannada 3137 300 9.56 0.06 0.13 0 9.37Davangere 1084 803 74.08 33.03 14.39 26.57 0.09Dharwad 494 239 48.38 9.92 23.28 0.2 14.98Gadag 350 169 48.29 36.29 12 0 0Gulbarga 2296 653 28.44 19.29 2.57 0.13 6.45Hassan 3900 702 18 4.08 4.64 1 8.28Haveri 630 518 82.22 12.22 17.94 20.63 31.43Kodagu 573 315 54.97 0.52 0 1.05 53.4Kolar 3742 1942 51.9 13.6 8.52 26.86 2.91Koppal 709 531 74.89 67.28 7.05 0 0.56Mandya 1873 1411 75.33 8.44 27.66 2.72 36.52Mysore 1934 948 49.02 5.43 22.44 6.26 14.89Raichur 1219 697 57.18 26.42 16 10.58 4.18Shimoga 4424 540 12.21 2.01 1.97 0.05 8.18Tumkur 5484 3709 67.63 12 10.67 17.8 27.17Udupi 5640 232 4.11 0.2 0.04 0.02 3.87Uttara Kannada 3901 256 6.56 0.62 1.9 0.33 3.72TOTAL 56682 21008 37.06 10.3 7.87 7.19 11.7

DistrictTotal No. of habitations

affected

% of Affected

habitations

Total No. of Habitations

% of habitations affected by

63


percent), Gulbarga (62.59 percent), Chamarajnagar (75.18percent) and Bangalore Urban (64.79 percent) have lessthan 55 litres per capita of water supply. In the droughtprone districts of Bijapur, Bidar, Bagalkot, Chitradurga,Davangere, Tumkur, Koppal, Raichur and Gadag, morethan 30 percent of rural habitations do not have access to55 litres per capita per day water supply.

The problem of inadequate drinking water supply is alsoobserved in urban areas of the State. Of the 208 urbanlocal bodies under the Karnataka Urban Water Supply andDrainage Board, in 161 urban local bodies (77percent) the drinking water supply is inadequate.In all major towns of Bangalore Urban, Kolar,Tumkur, Udupi, Chitradurga, Gadag, Haveri,Gulbarga, Belgaum, Dharwad and Raichur districtsthe drinking water supply is less than the acceptednorms. Only in Mysore and Mangalore the level ofwater supply is higher than the norm adopted bythe Karnataka Urban Water Supply and DrainageBoard. Water supply in the Municipal Corporationsof Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum is veryinadequate.

The presence of organic and inorganic substancesin excess of permissible limits adversely affects the

Standards prescribed for drinking water in India

Source: Bureau of Indian Standards: IS 10500:1991

Percentage of habitations having groundwater quality problems

health of people. For instance, presence of fluoride inexcess of 1.5 parts per million, causes dental and skeletalfluorosis. Consumption of brackish water leads to skindiseases and biological or organic contamination of waterleads to water borne diseases.

Ground water in more than 37 percent of rural habitationsand surface water in some river stretches is contaminated.Groundwater quality is a serious problem in more thanhalf of the habitations in Bagalkot, Bangalore Urban,Bijapur, Chamarajnagar, Chitradurga, Haveri, Mandya,

Substance / Characteristics

Desirable/ Essential

Highest desirable

Limit (ppm)

Max Permissible limit in Absence of Alternative source

(ppm)Calcium Desirable 75 200Magnesium Desirable 30 100Iron Essential 0.3 1Chloride Essential 250 1000Sulphate Desirable 200 400Nitrate Desirable 45 100Fluoride Desirable 1 1.5Total Dissolved Solids Desirable 500 2000

PH Essential 6.5-8.5 No relaxationTotal Hardness Essential 300 600

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Tumkur, Bellary, Davanagere, Kodagu, Kolar, Raichur andKoppal districts. Excess Fluoride in ground water is a majorproblem in 14 districts ranging from 10 to 67 percent ofthe total habitations of these districts. Similarly, excessBrackishness in 13 districts (10 to 27 percent of thehabitations), excess Nitrate in 8 districts (10 to 51 percentof habitations) and excess Iron in 12 districts (10 to 63percent of habitations) have also affected the quality ofdrinking water.

A survey conducted by the Rural Development andPanchayat Raj department in 2002 covering 21008habitations across the state revealed that 5830 habitationswere affected by excess Fluoride, 6633 habitations byexcess Iron, 4077 habitations by excess Nitrate andbrackishness was a problem in 4460 habitations.

In an other survey conducted by the High PowerCommittee in 2002 in 76 towns having bore well basedwater supply, it was found that 16 percent had water unfitfor drinking, 5 percent of towns reported brackishness, 5percent hardness and 3 percent contamination. Amongthe districts surveyed, brackishness was a major problemin 33 percent of towns in Raichur district, 20 percent inBangalore Rural, 15 percent in Kolar. Hardness wasreported in 50 percent of towns in Shimoga, 40 percent inBangalore Rural and 17 percent in Haveri districts. InDavanagere and Tumkur water was contaminated, in 33and 12 percent of the towns respectively. Similarly waterquality test for tank based drinking water schemes showedthat in 8 percent of the 28 towns surveyed, the quality ofwater was low with high concentration of salt and hardnessin water.

TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS

The number of habitations covered with adequate drinkingwater supply grew from 54 percent in 1999 to 64 percentin 2002, showing an annual growth rate of 4.11%. If thisgrowth rate continues, the drinking water requirements of50000 rural habitations (81 percent) can be met by theend of 10th Five Year Plan (2003-2008) and all habitationsby end of 11th Five Year Plan (2008-2013) with adequatedrinking water supply.

Even though the number of towns covered with adequatewater supply increased from 24 to 47 between 1998 and2003, the state still has 161 urban local bodies withinadequate water supply. In Chitradurga and Dharwadthe groundwater level has declined to around 19 meters,while in Bangalore, Bellary, Tumkur and Kolar to around16 meters depth during 2002.

During 2001 poor water quality was a problem in about20929 habitations (i.e., 36.92 percent) (Government ofKarnataka, High Power Committee Report, 2002) the sameincreased to 21008 habitations in the 2002. If this trendcontinues, poor water quality would be a problem in 21235habitations (37.46 percent) by 2008, 21427 habitations(37.80 percent) by 2013, and about 21621 habitations(38.14 percent) by 2018.

HOTSPOTS

Bellary, Bangalore, Bijapur, Tumkur, Kolar and Chitradurgaare considered as hotspots for drinking water supply asthey show all the three problems of inadequate watersupply, declining groundwater level and poor water quality.Dharwad has problem of both inadequate water supplyand declining groundwater level. Chamarajnagar andHaveri have been listed as hotspots for inadequate watersupply and poor water quality.

CAUSES

Groundwater levels fluctuate depending on rainfall, rateof recharge and extraction. In addition, factors likegeographical and geological conditions also influence thelevel of groundwater. Depletion of water table (a supplyfactor) combined with over extraction of groundwater (ademand factor) leads to scarcity of water.

Degradation of forests, siltation and inadequate rainfallhas reduced the supply capacity of surface sources likerivers, lakes, reservoirs and tanks. The general neglect inconserving rainwater and discharge of untreated sewageinto the water bodies also has lead to depletion anddeterioration of water resources.

Apart from the supply and demand driven factors, lack of

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Hotspots of drinking water supply

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Protecting the Tippagondanahalli catchmentTippagondanahalli reservoir built at the confluence of Arkvathi and Kumudvathi rivers is one of the sources of drinking water toBangalore city since 1930. Tippagondanahalli reservoir in normal year supplies upto 125 million litres per day of water to the cityand in recent years, the inflow has been decreasing and the quality has been affected due to due to the effluent discharge.

A study conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation for Bangalore Metropoliton Development Authority revealed thatthis environmentally sensitive area has been adversely affected by the unplanned activities like increasing urbanization,indiscriminate and unscientific waste and sewage disposal both by house-holds and industries and increasing load of industrialeffluents in the catchment. Conservation measures have been initiated to protect the Thippagondanahalli reservoir catchmentmeasuring 1453 square kilometres. The Environment and Ecology Department has issued a government order under section 5of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, dated 18th November 2003 envisaging comprehensive conservation program.

The entire catchment has been categorized in four Zones.Zone-1 Entire tippagondanahalli resevoir catchment: exploitation of ground water will be monitored and no fresh leases orlicence for mining, quarrying and stone crushers shall be granted.Zone-2 Area covered within 2 kilometres from the Tippagondanahalli reservoir boundary: except agricultural activitiesall other activities are prohibited without prior permissionZone-3 Area that falls with in 1kilometres distance from the river banks of Arkavathi and Kumudvathi: no activitiesother than agriculture and related activities are permitted without prior permissionZone-4 Area that falls within 1 to 2 kilometresdistance from the above mentioned rivers upto Hesaraghatta tank: onlyGreen category industries having scientific waste treatment facilities and rainwater harvesting system are permitted.

The concerned government departments like Urban Development Department, Mines and Geology Department and urban civicbodies like Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board, Bangalore Development Authority have been made responsible for thestrict implementation of this order.

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operation and maintenance of water supply schemes (amatter of management and governance) is a major causeof inadequate drinking water supply. Other managementrelated issues include leakage in distribution network andpower fluctuations which make water supply schemessuboptimal.

Inorganic contamination of groundwater may occur duenatural factors. This leads to excess Fluoride (Koppal,Bellary), Iron (Mandya, Haveri) and Nitrate(Chamarajanagar, Kolar). Anthropogenic factorsinfluencing groundwater quality include over extraction ofground water, discharge of pollutants, inadequate andimproper drainage and sewerage systems, and improperlydesigned sanitation facilities. Contamination in thedistribution network due to leakage or broken pipes mayresult in sewage getting mixed with water.

SANITATION ISSUES AND IMPACTS

Sanitation issues in urban areas include lack of latrinesand underground drainage facilities. According to a studyconducted by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics(1998), out of 8634 latrines constructed under the NirmalGrama Yojana, 13 percent were misused and 3 percentwere not used. It is significant to note that misuse oflatrines was more in Bijapur (69 percent), Gulbarga (56percent) and Raichur (51 percent). In Raichur around 40percent of the latrines were being used as bathrooms, inGulbarga 34 percent were being utilized for otherpurposes.

Only 36 urban local bodies, except Bangalore and the CityMunicipal Councils around Bangalore have been coveredwith underground drainage facilities. Even in those townswhere the underground drainage is being provided thepercentage coverage of the households is relatively less.Further, 182 urban local bodies are yet to be providedwith underground drainage system in the state.

Most of the urban local bodies do not have sewagetreatment plants to treat wastewater. For instance, out of36 urban local bodies where underground drainage systemis provided, 9 urban local bodies do not have treatment

plants. Even among other urban bodies where sewagetreatment plants are provided, they are either oxidationplants (in 16 towns) or primary treatment plants (in 6towns). In none of the towns secondary and tertiarytreatment plants are established. Belgaum and Hubli-Dharwad Corporations do not have treatment plants.Treatment plants in Jamkhandi, Bhatkal, Chikmagalur andIlkal, were not functioning.

Lack of proper sanitation facilit ies increases theenvironmental problems particularly during rainy season.Overflowing soak pits contaminate water and soil andalso affect the health of people. The problem getsworsened in low lying areas, where usually poor peoplelive.

TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS

With the present rate of Nirmal Grama Yojana programmeabout 13 lakh households by the end of 10th Five YearPlan, over 15.3 lakh households by the end of 11th FiveYear Plan and nearly 17 lakh households towards the endof 12th Five Year Plan could be provided with latrine facility.This is still far away from covering all the 66 lakh ruralhouseholds as per the Census, 2001.

Underlying causes for lack of sanitation

Ignorance among rural people about the pollution causedby defecation in open area

Low priority among the rural households for having latrinesnear the houses

Lack of space near the house for construction of latrines

Non utilization of existing latrines facility

Insufficient water supply in both rural and urban areas

Lack of resources like land or earmarked space for manurepits outside habitations

Lack of knowledge of scientific composting methods amongpeople

Low priority assigned by local government bodies such asGrama Panchayat, Regional Development Boards forcreation of adequate sanitation facilities like drainage andsullage system in rural habitation

Improper design and implementation of drainage andsewerage system, lack of or inadequate place for divertingthe drainage in both rural and urban areas

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ACTION PLAN

• Supply of water through tankers for non domesticpurposes should be regulated

• The local authorities should have adequateadministrative powers to control supply of waterthrough tankers, by way of licensing, prescribingstandards and periodical checks to ensuresupply of good quality of water.

Sanitation in Bangalore City

According to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, about 80 percent of the water supplied in the city gets into thesewers as wastewater, which amounts to about 528 million litres per day. At present only about 38.6 percent of the geographicalarea of Bangalore City is covered with sewerage system.Some of the sewers are in a critical condition due to crown corrosionand require immediate replacement. Thus a project has been formulated by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Boardto upgrade trunk system to convey the estimated sewage flow into all the sewage treatment plants. This scheme funded underthe National River Conservation Programme will also ensure prevention of pollution of the Ponniar and Cauvery rivers. BangaloreWater Supply and Sewerage Board has identified 66 Km length of sewers for rehabilitation. These works are to be completed inorder to acheive the goal of zero discharge of raw sewage into storm drains and lakes.

Out of the the 7 sewage treatment plants in the city, 5 are extended aeration tanks whereas 2 are with up flow anaerobic sludgeblanket reactor (UASB) followed by extended aeration. The existing sewerage system of Bangalore City is divided in to 3drainage zones, namely Vrishabhavathi, Koramanagala-Challaghatta and Hebbal. In addition there are three minor valleysnamely Kethamaranahalli and Arkavathi, Tavarekere and Kathriguppe with inadequate capacity to carry the sewage whichcontributes to wastewater stagnation and other related problems.

Issues of sanitation services in Bangalore City

The problems in existing sanitation facilities in Bangalore Cityinclude

Siltation, blocking of solid waste and damage in the seweragesystem.The sewage is left in open at many places creating unhygienicconditions in the surrounding area.Hennur, Halgevadayarahalli sewage pumping stations notworking properly.Dumping of solid waste in manholesSewer lines having crown corrosion and reverse gradient anddiscontinuity.Absence of sewers in slum and isolated areas. Sewage treatment plant at Koramangala and

Challagatta valley

Inadequacy of latrines

About 65 percent of the rural area has been covered bysanitation system in the state. The concerted efforts made bythe Government through programmes like Nirmala GramaYojana resulted in the construction of over 9.78 lakh householdlatrines up to October 2003. However, this is highly inadequate(over 6 households depending upon one latrine unit)considering that there are 66 lakh rural households.

Source: Rural development and panchayat raj department 2004

Status of sewage treatment plants

Present Capacity

(MLD)

Expanded Capacity

(MLD)

Kormangala & Challaghatta Valley 163 218 Activated

SludgePrimary and Secondary

are operational

Vrishabavathi Valley 303High rate trickling filters

Primary is operational

Hebbal Valley 60 90 Activated Sludge

Total Capacity 526 308

Process Status

Treatment Plant

Name of Plant

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• The village Panchayats should be encouraged to takeup rainwater harvesting in the common areas throughcommunity water harvesting structures.

• The urban local bodies should prepare action plan forreplacement of old pipelines to prevent leakages. Theyhave to generate income for this purpose by increasingwater charges, preventing unauthorized connectionsand proper manpower deployment.

• An integrated water quality testing and monitoringsystem for surface and ground water in rural and urbanarea should be developed in order to avoid involvementof multiple agencies.

• The State Pollution Control Board, Mines and Geologydepartment or private sector laboratories should bemade responsible for testing of organic and inorganiccontamination of water.

• In Grama Panchayats private participation for providingpay and use toilets especially for women should beintroduced.

• The women self-help groups like Streeshakti should beencouraged for:

• Creating awareness on sanitation• Managing community toilets

• Slum improvement programmes should be given highpriority to provide basic facilities like drinking water,sanitation, covering all slums in all urban local bodies.Private management of community toilets may also beconsidered.

• The Urban Development department during the processof comprehensive development plan, should provideadequate land at appropriate locations for seweragesystem, public toilets/latrines, garbage disposal andsewage treatment plants.

• Water supply charges should be fixed on scientific basisto cover the all maintenance costs and variable costslike electricity charges.

• In the same way, the sanitation charges should also becollected/levied on a scientific basis to cover operationand maintenance charges and implementation of newsanitation projects.

• The revenue earned by the urban local bodies fromwater supply and sanitation services should bedeposited in a fund created for this purpose. This fundshould be used exclusively for the purposes mentionedabove.

Nirmala Bangalore, pay and use toilet

Impact of other sectors on water supply and sanitationMainly household, agriculture, urban planning and industrial sectors adversely affect the drinking water supply and sanitationsector. Increased demand for drinking water and sanitation services due to high growth in population, urbanization, economicactivities (irrigation, industry), etc., has lead to more pressure on availability of drinking water, its quality and sanitation facilities.

Household Agriculture Urban Planning

Mining and Quarying Industry

Inadequate Drinking Water Supply High High High Medium MediumDepletion of Ground Water High Medium High Medium LowDeteriorating Drinking Water Quality High High High High HighLack of Household Toilet Facility High Low High NA NALack of Sewerage system and Disposal Facilities High Low High NA High

Lack of Community Sanitation High Medium High NA NAIncreasing Number of Slums High NA High NA NATotal High High High Medium High

ProblemsSectors

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Habitations affected by ground water quality problems

rural and urban water supply and sanitation

Documents