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Urbanization and Water Management in Bengaluru City,

Karnataka- Issues, Challenges and Possible Solutions

Conference Paper · February 2014

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 International Symposium on
676 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM–2014)
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM–2014)
February 19–21, 2014, CWRDM, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

Urbanization and Water Management

in Bengaluru City, Karnataka—
Issues, Challenges and Possible Solutions
Jayasree Vaidyanathan
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus,
Mathikere, Bangalore–560012, India
E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Water is the most important factor of life. Nevertheless, world population is
facing water stress which is unprecedented. According to the reports, over one billion
people lack access to clean water and 2.4 billion live without sanitation. Therefore growing
demand for water is one of the major factors threatening the sustainability of human
health and ecological integrity in the coming years. The World is rapidly urbanising and
Indian cities are no exception. Indian cities are expanding at very fast rates due to which
cities face unprecedented challenges especially in water sector. The city of Bengaluru is
one such case in India facing severe water challenges. The population growth, infrastructure
development, and city’s expansion have contributed to tremendous stress on water
infrastructure including wastewater. The inadequate supply from public utilities, unequal
distribution, leakages, low tariff, thriving water markets etc. worsen the scenario. The
study looks at various issues and challenges the city is facing and the solutions
implemented by government and state agencies and effectiveness of the same in the
context of growing nature of demand in the city. Feasibility of various options to increase
water supply in the city has been analysed. With finite resources and without alternatives
urban self-supply is necessary which could be achieved only through replenish, reuse and
recycle at the micro-level. Some of the feasible options are rain water harvesting, waste
water treatment and reuse, rejuvenation of lakes etc., each of these having its own merits
and demerits. On one hand, paper gives the potential for each of these options and on the
other, describes the problems faced in adopting and implementing each of these. The
study concludes with some suggestions in safeguarding the resources and its judicious
management so as to have a sustainable urban water system in place.
Keywords: Urbanization, Rain Water Harvesting, Waste Water Treatment, Lake Reju-
venation.

INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important factor of life. Though water covers 71.6% of the earth’s surface,
only 2.5% of the earth’s water is fresh water (Gleick, 1993). Nevertheless, World population
is facing water stress which is unprecedented. According to the reports, over one billion
people lack access to clean water and 2.6 billion live without sanitation. Demand for water
Urbanization and Water Management in Bengaluru City, Karnataka… 677

supply is growing faster than the World’s population (Deborah, 2011). Increasing population
coupled with industrialisation and urbanization will result in increasing demand for water
which will have serious consequences on the environment and is one of the major factors
threatening sustainability of human health.
The World is rapidly urbanising and Indian cities are no exception. India, the second most
populated country of the World with over 1.2 billion people (Census of India, 2011) is facing
rapid urbanisation with almost 377.1 million residing in the cities. As per World Urbanisation
prospects, 2011 estimates, India’s urban population share would grow from about 31% to nearly
52% by 2050. Such massive transformations would pose unprecedented challenges to India’s
growing cities especially in providing the infrastructure facilities such as water, sanitation and
sewerage and also in meeting the needs of future urban population. Though India supports
nearly 16% of the World population, it has only 4% of the earth’s water resource (Patnaik,
2011). According to World water development report (WWDR, 2013), India ranks 133rd among
180 countries in terms of per capita availability. India’s exploitable renewable fresh water
resources are estimated to be at 1100–1200 bcm. According to MoWR reports, taking into
consideration of population as per census 2011, water availability is 1545 cubic meters which
is expected to go down to 1140 cubic meters by 2025 and to 950 cubic meters by 2050. Declining
per capita availability and increasing demand would make India a water stressed country and
therefore there is an urgent need for developing integrated urban management systems appropriate
to the needs and capacity.
Like many Indian cities, Bengaluru one of the fastest growing metros in India is also facing
challenges in satisfying the requirements for water by all, since resources are depleting and need
is increasing. The city faces problems with respect to demand-supply gap, wastage of water,
mismatch in cost of production versus recovery, water quality, declining sources, etc.
The present study is aimed at looking at the issues and challenges with regard to water
management in Bengaluru city. The study would also look at various interventions by the
state and government agencies in water provision and also identify possible solutions and
examine the feasibility of the same in order to improve the water supply scenario in the city.

WATER SOURCES FOR THE CITY OF BENGALURU

Bengaluru city’s location being in the semi-arid peninsular plateau makes it naturally water
scarce and does not have any source in the neighbourhood. The city’s water sources include
both surface water and ground water. Surface water is mostly from Cauvery River and a small
portion comes from Arkavathi River.

CHALLENGES WITH WATER PROVISION IN BENGALURU

Bengaluru city’s expansion has resulted in a scenario where supply of water is inadequate
(Poornima, 2012; Gupta, 2012). The most important challenge is efficient, equitable and timely
distribution of water at a reasonable price. Some of the problems that the city face today are
inadequate supply, disparity in services, transmission losses, cost of production versus recovery,
increased ground water use leading to waterTable decline, water quality reduction, development of
water markets etc. Shrinkage of water resources, poor recharge due to concrete and asphalt roads,
678 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM–2014)

water wastage, usurpation of lakes by layouts, real estate development, non-enforcement of

water conservation, recycling and reuse initiatives worsen the situation.

Demand versus Supply

For a total population of 8.5 million (Census, 2011) spread across 741 sq.km with 245 sq.km
in the core area (Kumar, 2012) and rest in periphery, BWSSB’s supply include 7.25 lakh
water connections and about 15182 community taps to feed the poor. At present there is a
water demand of about 1342 MLD estimated at 140 lpcd, but actual supply through piped
network is only 950 MLD leading to a shortfall of about 400 MLD. Board is able to supply only
on an average of 110–120 lpcd for approximately 60% of the population.Water is distributed
in Bengaluru city through a 5000 km piped service from 55 ground level reservoirs and 47
overhead tanks existing in different parts of the city which hold 616 MLD and 41 MLD of water
respectively (Shivakumar, 2013). The piped supply comes through both gravity as well as
pumping.
Peripheral areas depend mostly on ground water. As per the estimates, the city has almost 3.2 lakh
bore well connections of which about 7000 are owned by the board and rest by private owners
(Hegde and Chandra, 2012), total contribution of which is about 341 MLD. For the city the
overall supply from surface as well as ground water sources is 1023 MLD.

Unequal Distribution of Water

In Bengaluru city, there is a huge disparity in water supply and accessibility in terms of source of
water and means (Smitha and Sangeetha, 2008). Accessibility does not ensure adequacy,
equity and sufficiency. Water supply varies between different parts of the city as well as
between the consumer types. Domestic consumers (constitute 90% of the total connections)
gets major share and industries gets only a small portion. In core areas, supply coverage is
100% whereas peripheral areas, it varies between 10 to 60% in peripheral areas (Malini et al.,
2009). While domestic consumers get meager and intermittent services hardly exceeding 3 to 4
hours, industrial users get water for just 2 to 6 hours, both on alternate days. Some locations in
Bengaluru gets as much as 20 hours per day (Jenny et al., 2010). Per capita water availability
varies from 100–125 lpcd in some areas to 40–45 lpcd for the poor residing in slums.
Southern and western part of the city close to massive pipe lines gets more water compared to
those in northern parts.

Transmission Losses
The BWSSB faces problem of high water loss due to unaccounted for water (UFW) or the
non-revenue water which is difference in water supplied to the city distribution network and
the metered quantity of water. BWSSB bills close to 53% of the water pumped to the city
distribution network (Poornima, 2012). Rest of the water which is not billed is used for
tankers, jetting machines, public taps and unauthorized connections in the slums. The UFW is
almost 50% for the city. Water loss occurs mainly due to transmission losses while transit,
leakage though network pipes, loss incurred due to failure of control values and pressure
regulators.
Urbanization and Water Management in Bengaluru City, Karnataka… 679

Cost of Production versus Recovery

The distance of water source from city is of high significance impacting the cost incurred in
terms of transportation costs, water leakages, pumping, etc., leading to revenue loss. Arkavathi
and Cauvery water are brought to the city from a distance. Arkavathi River is situated at a
distance of 40 km from the city and Cauvery is 98 km away from Bengaluru. Cauvery water
is at a level of 1000 feet below the altitude of Bengaluru and therefore needs to be pumped.
Drawing of Cauvery from Shiva Anicut, transportation to T.K. Halli for treatment, bringing to
city, pumping and storing in ground level reservoirs in various parts of city, supplying to
consumers through piped networks incurs a huge cost to BWSSB. Cost incurred by BWSSB in
providing one kiloliter of water is about ` 32/- whereas the recovery from consumer starts at `
6/kiloliter for the initial 8000 liters and increases in marginally based consumption. Because of
high difference in the cost versus recovery, BWSSB faces huge revenue loss (Gupta, 2012).

Increased Ground Water Exploitation

Ground water has been the major supplementary source of water supply in Bengaluru city.
Since BWSSB supply does not extend to entire population, people residing in the peripheral
regions and outskirts of the city depend on bore well water which is either primary or secondary
source. There are no exact estimates on number of citizens who depend solely on ground
water. As per CGWB (2008), the abstractions are 50% more than net ground water
availability leading to ground water over draft, sinking water levels and falling wells and drying
of shallow aquifers (Jenny et al., 2010). Though there are measures to improve ground water
recharge by the board, the overdraft is not getting compensated with recharge which is mainly
due to paved asphalt roads with high impermeability. In open places, presence of clayey soil
does not promote high water penetration leading to siltation (Mallik and Vasudevan, 2008).
Increasing number of bore wells day by day and absence of legislation to prevent bore well
drilling adds to more ground water extraction beyond the recharge, which is as high as 378%
against recharge.

Reduction of Lakes and Tanks

The lakes and tanks form important resources of the Bengaluru city. Most of these tanks and
lakes were man-made for the purpose of drinking water, irrigation and fishing, influencing
micro-climate of the city, replenish ground water etc. Reports say that there were about 280
lakes and tanks in the city during the 1960’s which went down to 127 out of which only 81
exists now. Many tanks and lakes in thecity have been lost in the process of urbanisation and
industrialisation. Some of the impacts caused by the reduction in the lakes and tanks in the
city are depletion of ground water, flooding in urban areas, reduction in water storage due to
encroachment, ground water pollution, decrease in flora and fauna, sedimentation of pollutants
etc. (Lake Development Authority, 2011).

Water Quality
There are many studies conducted (Lokeshwari and Chandrappa, 2006, Pattusami et al.,
2013) on quality of water which mentioned that the quality has deteriorated very much during
680 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM–2014)

the recent years which are visible from increased levels of physical, chemical and biological
parameters. According to Mohan Kumar et al. (2011) the quality deterioration is mainly due to
cross contamination of water supply lines with the sewerage and ground water contamination
by sewage and poor personal hygiene due to lack of water.

Water Market
Because of the insufficiency in meeting water demands, a number of private water supplies
have entered into water marketing business to meet both domestic and industrial demands
(Suresh, 2001). With a price range of ` 300–400 for 4000 liters, tankers supplements to various
needs of a large populace depending on the socio-economic status. Tankers are filled by land
owners who have high yielding tube wells in their premises. Private tanker water supply is
extensive and results in well-organized marketing, restoring to ground water abstraction without
proper management, and there is no legislation to control this.

Strategies for City’s Water Woes

Most cities of the World adopt measures to match demand and supply which could be either
reduces demand or increase supply or both. Accordingly, the Government of Karnataka came
up with water policies that propose a multi-sectoral approach to resource planning, development
and management. This plan gives priority to water conservation, augmentation of resources,
awareness generation and water pricing regime that would enable better management and
operation of water resources and supply schemes. Experts say that water situation in
Bengaluru can be improved either through demand management and supply management
(Deepak, 2009, Poornima, 2012). BWSSB has also plans to draw more water from Cauvery
River, diversion of west-flowing rivers in addition to removal of encroachment, maintenance
of lakes and storm water drains.

Demand Management
According to Deepak (2009), demand management options are promoter of efficient water
use that can be done either through minimization of water usage or through minimization of
losses. Fixing the leak taps, pipes etc., from the consumer end, plugging leaks, remove
corroded pipes, repair defective meters, metering of all connections, reduce theft, water
auditing, reduce consumption from public utilities, raising water tariff to compensate the
investment cost are some ways of management. Some of these measures reduce the UFW due
to which additional revenue is generated which will improve the financial status of the board
and ensure sustainability of water supply.

Supply Enhancement
Reddy in 1999 argued that supply enhancement strategy dominates urban water resource
planning in developing countries over demand management. Supply management increases
the supply of water from existing as well as alternative sources to meet higher demand and
ensures equitable distribution of water. Some of the strategies include rain water harvesting,
waste water treatment, recharging of ground water and rejuvenation of lakes.
Urbanization and Water Management in Bengaluru City, Karnataka… 681

FEASIBLE OPTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY

Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting

Roof top water harvesting (RWH) has been proved as most viable solutions for water crisis in
many parts of the World including India (Hassel, 2005;Tapan, 2010).With annual rainfall of
970 mm spread across 60 days, RWH has the potential to offset some of the crisis in
Bengaluru city. In order to promote the same, Karnataka assembly passed Bengaluru Water
Supply and Sewerage Amendment bill 2009 which insists RWH in all sites with more than
2400 sq.ft and buildings with 1200 sq.ft area including government and commercial buildings
(BWSSB, 2011). According to Suresh Kumar, 2013, out of the total 10 lakh properties in
Bengaluru including 6 lakh in the core areas, only 44470 have adopted RWH. Mass awareness
creation and promotional initiatives have been carried out by the board for successive
implementation of RWH in the city.
RWH is meritorious as it is augments water supply at marginal cost, replenish ground water,
reduce pollution and contamination, provide clean and safe water, reduce electricity bill, and
least capital cost with maximum benefits. In spite of the benefits, it has got certain limitations
such as high cost, uncertain quantity, difficulty in implementation and lack of knowledge.
Some of challenges and constraints in adopting RWH have been the space restrictions,
availability of water from multiple sources, cost involved, need for alterations in the house,
cleaning and maintenance, lack of awareness, negative perceptions about the quality,
etc.(Patrik and Snelgrove, 2009). Though, there are number of methods/techniques available
but their cost, climate, technology, hydrology, social and political elements play an important
role in the eventual adoption/implementation of these methods; and unfortunately those points
are overlooked by our planners, engineers and builders which has led to less acceptability of
the same (Goyal and Bhushan, 2005).
In order to make RWH an attractive option in the city, an appropriate regulatory and incentive
mechanism need to be developed by the city government to operationalize the technology.

Usage of Treated Waste Water

To supplement to the existing resources, in addition to conservation of storm water, the
concept of recycle and reuse of waste water also was suggested as a solution as these methods
yield major results economically in a small time frame. In the city, waste water collected
through a network of underground drainage pipes are treated at different sewerage treatment
plants (STP) in the city. Eventually out of 920 MLD of waste water, about 720 MLD is
generated and drained to Vrishabavathi and Ponniyar basins to be used for agriculture and rest
is also allowed charged to ground water. According to Hegde and Chandra (2012), conservation
and protection of storm water and treating waste water to potable standards would serve a
population of 50 lakhs in the city.
Though these options have a high potential, this does not gain much importance because
waste water recycle and reuse needed remodelling of existing sewage systems. Treatment to
tertiary level to meet drinking water standards needs storage for treated water and exclusive
pipeline to transport treated water and additional piping system at consumer end which involves
682 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM–2014)

additional cost. In addition, waste water treatment process makes pollution to enter from
surface to air.
Even with legislations, awareness creation and support, there are apprehensions on adopting
these technologies by the citizens and difficulty in public acceptance over the usage of
reclaimed water. Success of this system would depend on how far we can educate the public,
taking them into confidence and prepare them well in advance to use the treated water.

Rejuvenating Lakes
Rejuvenation of lakes also helps in improving water availability. Some of the benefits are
increase in storage capacity allowing heavy inflow of rain water, preventing breaching of
tanks at higher elevation and reduction of flash floods in the city. These lakes and tanks are
owned and maintained by different agencies such as Bangalore Development Authority (BDA),
Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Lake Development Authority (LDA) and
Karnataka forest department. Revival of these water bodies require combined effort from these
agencies. Out of the existing 81 lakes in the city 31 has already been restored and another 24
is in the process of revival (LDA, 2011).
Lake rejuvenation has remained ineffective due to proper statutory backup. High capital cost
involved also leads to sluggish revival of the same.

Diversion of West-Flowing Rivers

Diversion of west flowing rivers was proposed as an option to augment to water supply of the
city (Harsha, 2011). Though this would augment to water supply in the city, viability of the
same is questionable as water has to be brought from a distance in difficult terrains and also
huge investments of about ` 60000 crores for the same (Hegde and Chandra, 2012).

CONCLUSIONS
Bengaluru city is growing fast and the water resources are diminishing and the government is
facing problems to meet the demands of the city. There is a huge demand-supply gap which is
partially augmented by ground water and private water vendors. Even with multiple modes of
water sources such as piped connections, private wells and water vendors, some parts of the city
has severe water scarcity especially in summer months. Since resources are finite and no
nearby alternate sources, urban self-supply is necessary which could be achieved only
through replenish, reuse and recycle at micro-level. Augmentation of water supply has to be
sought through other means such as rainwater harvesting, waste water treatment, rejuvenation
of lakes, etc. These alternatives have merits and demerits as well. Roof top rain water harvesting
recycle and reuse of waste water and revival of lakes turn out to be possible options for sustained
water supply in the city but the high investment cost, improper statutory backup, practical
difficulties and acceptance of the same by public makes it questionable. In the current settings,
in order to improve the water situation, some of the ways forward in safeguarding the resources
and its judicious management to have a sustainable urban water system in place are:
• Encourage judicious and economic use of both tap and ground water by imparting
awareness about growing concerns with respect to fresh water scarcity.
Urbanization and Water Management in Bengaluru City, Karnataka… 683

• Suitable designs, affordable technologies and proper system management with proper
consideration on the area, hydrogeology, how resources are monitored along the
government policies, institutional capacity and how interventions are carried out.
• A holistic approach to plan and protect the resource.
• Awareness rising climate change literacy and its possible impact on water resources at
local level and the need for conservation.
• Prevention of water bodies from contamination to be given priority.
• Contextualised planning and implementation integrating water users, planners and
stakeholders.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to sincerely thank my friends Dr. Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, Dr.V.V. Binoy and
Dr. B. Venkatesh for their valuable inputs.

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