In thirsty City, drinking water goes down the loo

In thirsty City, drinking water goes down the loo
VIJAY TIMES NEWS

Bangalore: At a time when drinking water is at a premium in Bangalore, you will be shocked to kno w that in several areas, people use more water for toilets than for drinking and bathing.

This significant fact came to light when the B WSSB and the Centre for S ustainable Development (CSD) Bangalore, took up a study on the use of water in the City recently . M uch of the water , which has been treated, is fit for drinking. But a mere 2 per cent of the total water pumped across more than 1,000 km b y the BWSSB from the Cauvery river is used for drinking; while 24 per cent is used for bathing, 27 per cent of the water is used for flushing toilets.

The CSD survey co vered households in areas such as Sadashivanagar , Indiranagar , Chandra Layout, Rajajinagar , N andini Layout, A ustin T o wn, Siddapura and M oodalpalya, including in its scope a wide cross section of ethnic, linguistic income groups.

After flushing toilets, it is bathing, washing clothes, cooking and cleaning of vessels, gardening and washing vehicles that come on the list of activities where water is consumed.

Interestingly , the use of water varied from house to house and it was also based on the income. The study of water usage pattern co vered 1,200 households spread o ver all the areas of the City and covered different backgrounds. A few commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants were also co vered.

WATER USE PERCENTAGE

4 27 per cent of water used for flushing

4 24 per cent for bathing

4 2 per cent for drinking

RICH USE MORE

4 Upper middle class - 232 litres per day

4 Middle income group - 206 litres

4 Lower middle class - 168 litres

4 Slum dwellers - 66 litres

Shiju Koppa