Wasteful’ BWSSB fixing leaks

Wasteful’ BWSSB fixing leaks
Reported Loss Of 300 Million Litres Of Water A Day
Anil Kumar M | TNN

Bangalore: If Bangaloreans are hoping they’ll get water supply everyday — as promised for some areas — they’re sadly mistaken. The supply has now dwindled from once every alternate day to once in three days in some areas.
BWSSB admits it is ‘wasting’ 300 million litres of water daily. That’s a whopping 37 per cent of the total water supplied to Bangalore.
“The prime reason for this loss is leakage through corroded pipes. We are working overtime to salvage the situation and an amount of Rs 400 crore has been earmarked to check this,’’ a BWSSB official said.
While the average supply from Cauvery is 810 million litres a day (MLD) of treated water, Arkavathy provides about 20 per cent (135 MLD).
To mitigate the situation, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy recently directed the BBMP to sink 100 borewells and arrange supply through tankers.
The water supply distribution system in some areas goes back to 1896. Measures to reduce leakage include procurement of leak-detection equipment; ultrasonic (portable) flow meters; cell for identification of leaks in the system and reviewing water production and distribution records.
“The distribution network in central parts of Bangalore is very old, due to which water supply is not satisfactory,’’ sources said.
The BWSSB has taken up replacing encrusted and corroded pipes.
A scheme earmarking Rs 10 crore has been envisaged, where replacement of 50-60 years old water supply lines will be replaced.
“A pilot project comprising 40,000 connections in Bangalore, covering service station of Clive Line reservoir, Johnson Market, Ulsoor, High Grounds and Coles Park, will be implemented on a trial basis to reduce the existing leakages. This has been done to conserve water and enhance customer satisfaction (increasing water revenue) in the city,’’ sources added.
Reasons for water wastage
Corroded water pipes Water connections damaged due to heavy vehicular traffic Unauthorised connections Failure to replace old water meters Failure to regularise public taps Reservoir leakage
Systemic changes
Study of roughness coefficient of pipelines Rehabilitation of old pipes Replacement of old and corroded lines Replacement of old defective meters Insulation of flow meters Rehabilitation of old ground level reservoirs Rehabilitation of CWSS I & II stage treatment plants Rehabilitation of pumps, motors and accessories