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Posts : BWSSB

Need for a water regulatory authority

tsubba - 9-JUL-2008

Latha K. Rao Chairperson BWSSB. source: Zenrainman's channel http://youtube.com/user/zenrainman

The OORU-NEERU Water Walk

tsubba - 29-JUN-2008

Attention shutterbugs and bangalore enthusiasts!! An excellent oppurtunity to show your camers skills and to get some insider gyaan on water in bangalore from S. Vishwanath. The OORU-NEERU Water Walk will look at the Hesarghatta reservoir and its current state. A siphon provided as an overflow mechanism, another unique structure worth a closer look, remnants of a brick aqueduct and a small temple on the bund are some of the other facets that will be looked upon during this walk. http://bcp.wikidot.com/city-walks:water-walk The Hessarghatta Urban Space Event is being organised for the Bangalore City Project by S. Vishwanath, (www.rainwaterclub.org and www.arghyam.org) who writes extensively on water issues.

BWSSB's plans

tsubba - 18-JUN-2008

Finally, a plan/proposal/idea that shows some clear out of the box thinking and goes beyond the currently fashionable gospels of maintenance, sustenance and development models. In rediscovering the original purpose of many of these man-made lakes of bangalore - as a source of potable water - bwssb might have hit upon a truely sustainable 'novel' idea to save our lakes.

The Holy Grail of Citizen Participation

tsubba - 23-MAY-2008

Harnessing a scarce resource

murali772 - 27-MAR-2008

Governor Rameshwar Thakur's call for constituting a 'Water Resources Regulatory Authority', vide the report in your columns on 26th March under the caption 'PPP can be answer to water scarcity', has not come a day too soon.

Arkavathy Serious. Arrive Soon.

tsubba - 23-MAR-2008

Arkavathi had origins in the Nandi Hills. After a journey of 190 kms around Bangalore it joined the Cauvery at the Sangama in Kanakapura district. Vrushbhavathi was a tributary of the Arkavathi. Arkvathi had a catchment area of 4351 sq. kms from where it collected water.

Both Doddaballapura and Ramanagara depend on Arkavathi, not to mention numerous villages. In 1894 Bangalore first ran out of water from within its boundaries. Then they built two reservoirs on the Arkavathi - the Hesaraghatta reservoir(1894) and the Thippagondanahalli reservoir(1933). Even to this day Arkavathy supplies 20% of Bangalore's water supply.

Like the rest of the peninsular rivers, Arkavathy was never a Brahmaputra. During summers, Arkavathy would reduce to a trickle. Yet was a time when, even in summers, you could get water at 4 meters below ground in any of the 30000 wells in its basin. Now there is no river even in the rainy season. But now, Arkavathy is dead. Maybe not, but Arkavathi is atleast in coma.

Bangalore's Water: 38% is not "accounted" for!

silkboard - 14-MAR-2008

Some newspaper reports (Hindu, ToI) this week mentioned that:

"... water supply to Bangalore is ... 694 million litres a day ... consumption which is actually billed ... around 429 million litres a day. The unaccounted for water comes to an alarming 38.2 per cent"

Wow, 38.2 percent (quoted from Hindu)! This would include two types of losses, 1) distribution loss: damages, leakages etc, and 2) water that is not getting billed. There is no clear mention or estimates of split between the two categories. Assuming distribution loss (leaks) to be 20% (double the 10% developed world aims for, google "Water Management Act US"), 18% of water could be going unbilled. That guesswork tells us that 1 in 6 of us, Bangalore citizens, isn't paying for his/her water.

Water For Bangalore - The Tertiary Treatment Option

tsubba - 7-NOV-2007

Whether it is the Cauvery or the ground water table,Bangalore's sources of potable water are fast depleting. Staring at a projected shortfall of 625 million liters of water per day (MLD) by 2013, BWSSB has come up with a plan that will augment the supply by 200 MLD. They want to recycle gray water.

SPOORTHIVANA

thampan - 6-NOV-2007

I came across a project being done by an NGO called Parisara and BWSSB. They are doing something to revive the greenery for bangalore. I thought that I will share the same over here so that readers of praja can participate if interested. Excerpt from the site of Spoorthivana

Vision :

To preserve the eco system for future generations.

Mission:

To grow trees with active public participation and involvement. To create awareness among public and to create a live museum of memories so that the future generations would be inspired. Spoorthivana 35 Kms away from Bangalore city on way to Magadi, near the confluence of Arkavathi and Kumudvathi rivers; SPOORTHIVANA – a dream project for preserving all your cherished memories by planting saplings, has come up in 300 acres of sprawling terrains belonging to Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board (BWSSB) at TG Halli (Thippagondanahalli) reservoir catchment area. The Government of Karnataka has approved this greening venture with BWSSB and Parisara The idea is that you could sponsor a tree for Rs 500/- and it will be maintained by the spoorthivana team.

Passing the Muck

Vijay - 11-SEP-2007

Once every month this BWSSB truck comes in and cleans out the septic tanks in the area. All the dirt and the grime are cleaned out and put on the road in a heap. It is then the work of the BBMP cleaners to clear that mess. This has led to many showdowns between the two, the latest being this morning when the two almost came to blows.