[suresh_gs]

Chennai already has 3 desalination plants to meet the drinking requirements of Chennai. On similar lines KA govt should also think of investing money on desalination plants. If the monsoon is good then no worries. Moreover with drastic climatic changes, one cannot rely on natural resource like river water. In such a senario, desalination plant could be the answer.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Water will get scarcer, demand will go up, and the only way to co-exist is to figure out workable solutions within and between communities.

Originally Posted by srishiva

I agree except the rain water harvesting part. Citizens need to play their role in doing this. They are helping themselves since no one will help them.

You guys think rainwater can solve the issue ? At the time of a real water crisis in the future, nobody knows to what extend rain water harvesting can help ! Lakes are drying, lakhs of borewells pump out whatever is left below on a 24/7 basis. We as a society of 200 families have 3 motors pumping almost 12 hours a day. Authorities do not care anyway. They will move to a better place when bangalore dries out.

Last time I saw the Cauvery bed (few months back), I was in tears ! There was hardly any water, more than half the water bed is totally dry. Bangalore city itself consumes a large portion because this city has grown to dangerous levels without any sensible planning ! Eventually these fights between states serve only the political groups, not the common man. God save us !!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by shajufx

You guys think rainwater can solve the issue ?...

Water scarcity is not solvable, only manageable.

No single initiative, or arguably all of them put together, is ever going to lead to supply surpassing demand, so all that's left to do is manage what we have, conserve what we can and avoid wastage.

[binand]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Is the judgement resolving the issue, I dont think so, distribution is still based on absolute numbers and not in percentage terms.

If you read the original tribunal decision from 2007, you will see that the distribution is in a certain ratio and the numbers that are mentioned now (192 tmc, 177.25 tmc etc.) are the actuals calculated as per this ratio in a year when water available is 740 tmc.

Originally Posted by shajufx

You guys think rainwater can solve the issue ? At the time of a real water crisis in the future, nobody knows to what extend rain water harvesting can help

There is this IISc study that says Bangalore can satisfy about three-quarters of its demand with rain water alone. And with efficient sewage treatment system, we can actually have water left over.

http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energ...114/ETR114.pdf

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by binand

If you read the original tribunal decision from 2007, you will see that the distribution is in a certain ratio and the numbers that are mentioned now (192 tmc, 177.25 tmc etc.) are the actuals calculated as per this ratio in a year when water available is 740 tmc.


http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energ...114/ETR114.pdf

740 tmc is supposed to be total water available in basin (based on some average) and the ratio (its actually numbers based on cultivable land) is dependent on that. There is no formula during deficit years. That is the reason ask is always based on fixed numbers. Like this year the deficit is 50 tmc to TN. That is based on 192 tmc and not on dynamic number that changes every year. It assumes 740 tmc every year.

[binand]

Originally Posted by srishiva

There is no formula during deficit years. That is the reason ask is always based on fixed numbers.

This is straight copy/paste from the tribunal judgment:

In case the yield of Cauvery basin is less in a distress year, the allocated shares shall be proportionately reduced among the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Pondicherry.

The problem during distress years is that with the need to release water to lower riparian states, KA farmers don't have enough water.

Full judgment: http://www.thehinducentre.com/multim...u_3021423a.pdf

[srishiva]

In my locality, parks are being dug up to install outdoor gym equipment and the good benches are being replaced with new ones. These new benches have the MLA, MP and coporator's names on them ! All bus shelters have been done newly even if they are good so that they can put their pictures on it. Ambush electioneering !

So, who is concerned about any crisis ? Water, Traffic, Pollution... The problem is people. We dont raise our voice against any of these. We deserve to face the hardship.

[maddy42]

I do see some interest in cauvery water in the thread. There is a protest march planned on mysore on sunday against a railway line which will cut more than a lakh trees in farms and forests in coorg and would be great if anyone of you could join. The area is the feeder for river Laxmanthirta which joins Cauvery near hunsur.

The area which feeds the river is getting damanged environmentally with unsound projects which the NGT and other boards sit there and count the number of CC to ban in delhi. Time the citizens take the country in their hands and dont let these politicians irrespective of parties dictate what needs to be done.

Maddy

[Ironhide]

Here's an informative podcast on the looming water crisis that faces India in the none too distant future. It's an interview with Vishwanathan S, a water activist who has been studying and in his own way battling the crisis.

Here's his channel on YouTube, and an interview with him.

Cheers !

( Podcast courtesy : www.ivm.com, YouTube channel courtesy : YouTube.com,
Interview courtesy : http://brokentoilets.org )

[AltoLXI]

This year the crisis has gotten worse. Looks like BWSSB has also thrown up their hands.

BWSSB officials claimed that they have been trying to figure an alternative water supply strategy by deploying tankers. “We’re doing our best to help them but when the demand is huge, we’re helpless,” officials added.

Link

The bore well in our apartment ran out of water last month. In our locality in North Bangalore 12 years back, we used to get water at 350 feet, then in 2012 it went down to 850 feet and this year there is no way we can drill again as we will not get water at all .

Will Bangalore soon run out of water like Cape town?

Bangalore TBHPians, what is the situation in other areas?

[srishiva]

The onus somehow is not on BWSSB to provide water in a mandatory way to everyone in the city. They make their effort and leave everything else to higher powers. People manage it either by digging wells or buying through tankers. There is no guarantee from the authorities towards fulfilling basic needs. Its same in all spheres of our life in this country.

I believe some areas in east of Bengaluru were always water deficient. It doesnt matter even if you have lakes since the population is huge and may be the topography of the area is also not that good. It could be very rocky and not many aquifers compared to south of the city.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

This year the crisis has gotten worse. Looks like BWSSB has also thrown up their hands.


Will Bangalore soon run out of water like Cape town?

Bangalore TBHPians, what is the situation in other areas?

I also stay in North Bangalore. I don't think people have completely realized the importance of saving every drop of water. In our apartment, people will happily pay for a deeper borewell, or install aerators in a few taps. However, when someone talks about effective rain water harvesting or about waterless Holi, there is a lot of resistance. When dealing with natural resources, it is always good to use as little as required voluntarily, so that we are not forced to do the same.

I think the government should send a few "influencers" to Capetown, so that they can come back and educate the masses on why it is important to conserve water and other natural resources.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by srishiva

I believe some areas in east of Bengaluru were always water deficient.

True, as a kid growing up in this part of town, specifically the Indiranagar-Tippasandra area, we always had water problems, even in the 90s. It's gotten much worse now overall. All the apartments depend on a fleet of water tankers. Interesting thing is, one of the tanker operators fills up at a borewell barely a few hundred meters away from the apartment he supplies (I followed one of his tankers one day, just to check). Of course that tanker operator is controlled by a local politician, so...

BWSSB supply is very erratic. Maybe once every couple of weeks, we get half a tank or sometimes a full tank's worth of water supply. Ours is an independent house, and there are just the two of us here, so we are able to manage with that, and with careful usage and with some basic rainwater harvesting that we use for the garden. People with bigger families use borewells and depend on water tankers. The ground water here is very hard, packaged drinking water is a roaring business in my area.

But I have to say, we get what we deserve. The majority of people still don't have any rainwater harvesting in place, and still use hose pipes to wash cars, etc. Also a new trend has started where neighbors are building 2-3 floors extra and giving those out on rent. More people in the same space, more water demand. So, much like the air pollution situation, can't really blame the government here, it's us!

[chandras1]

The saddest part is that, the total rainfall received by Bangalore in 2017 and 2018 was above average and in fact one of the best in recorded history and yet hardly 3 months into 2019, one complains of lack of water in bore wells.

The government needs to crack the whip big time into proper rain water harvesting. Unlike many many parts of this country, Bangalore's issue is not about rainfall or large rainfall in a shorter span (ex Chennai). The rainfall in Bangalore is wide spread over months unlike any other metro in India. Its only criminal mismanagement and wastage of a precious resource that has led to a situation like this.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by chandras1

The saddest part is that, the total rainfall received by Bangalore in 2017 and 2018 was above average and in fact one of the best in recorded history and yet hardly 3 months into 2019, one complains of lack of water in bore wells.

This article in Hindu summarizes this well.

Increasing exploitation by over four lakh borewells, coupled with lack of recharge in an increasingly concretised city, may perhaps have seen almost all the water flow away, instead of percolating. “In north Karnataka and other rural areas, water levels have gone up because of the rains. There, people stop using borewells during the monsoons, and there is time and surface area for water to percolate and recharge. Where is the recharging space in Bengaluru? Even during rains, borewells continue to operate and pump water here,” said K.S. Srinivas Reddy, director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Authority.