More water for Cubbon Park now

More water for Cubbon Park now
Thanks to BDA’s tertiary treatment plant, this park along with other gardens around gets more water
The Times of India


The tertiary treatment plant at Cubbon Park, that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) commissioned recently, has increased the water supply for watering the gardens in the park to meet the daily requirement. Also, water is now available for use in other gardens in the immediate environs of Cubbon Park. The gardens of Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha, High Court, Raj Bhavan and the cricket stadium get water from this plant.

The plant is located in a separate enclosure inside Cubbon Park near the Kanteerava Stadium. It turns out 1.5 million litres of water every day. The water is drawn from a main sewer line passing through the Cubbon Park and treated here. "The plant uses the membrane bio-reactor technology. This is a Canadian technology and is being employed for the first time in the country. The cost of this entire project has been Rs 3.9 crores", says T C Kathyayini, Public Relations Officer, BDA.

Earlier, the authorities incharge of watering these gardens depended on water from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and borewells. The cost was considerably higher and the quantity received was insufficient for the large number of gardens that needed watering. "While the cost of BWSSB's water used to be Rs 60 per kilo litre as it was considered to be for commercial use, the treated water now costs them just Rs 7.60 per kilo litre", says Kathyayini. "This apart, we are conserving the groundwater table and saving BWSSB's potable water to the extent of 1.5 million litres per day. The water saved by BWSSB, in turn, is being diverted for potable requirements in the city", she adds.

While large scale tertiary treatment plants outside the city are considered feasible. This demonstrates that it is also possible to put up such facilities in the heart of the city for local requirements. The BDA is also looking at the possibility of putting up similar small plants at other large gardens in the city. It may be recalled that BDA had earlier put up a treatment plant in Lal Bagh. However, that plant is filter-based and employs a different technology.