BWSSB to adopt new practices to meet water needs

Bengaluru : The state's water requirement is likely to touch 10,000 million litres per day (MLD) by 2025, Urban Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Minister, S Suresh Kumar said.Speaking at 'Singapore International Water Summit' on 'Challenges and Opportunities Indian Water Sector' to mark the International Water Week held on Thursday, Kumar said that in order to meet such a huge demand, the government is trying to adopt sustainable water management practices.Focussing specifically on Bangalore city and its water needs Kumar said, "Currently the BWSSB is supplying about 1,000 MLD of drinking water from various sources and collects and treats sewage of more than 700 MLD."In order to meet city's growing demand for fresh water supply, BWSSB is currently implementing a 800 million dollar project Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage IVPhase II. The project is expected to be completed in 2012.Meanwhile, BWSSB is also implementing a number of programmes for water conservation and pollution. Rainwater harvesting, lake restorations, recycle and reuse of highquality treated waste water for nonpotable applications, Kumar said.Referring to the 24/7 water supply schemes implemented in HubliDharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga cities, Kumar said that the consumers were very content with the scheme and the government was seriously mulling to extend this facility to other cities of the state.On the opportunities being provided by the water industry, Kumar said, zero discharge systems and wastewater recycling are becoming increasingly popular in India. "The Indian water treatment equipment industry is reasonably well established and costcompetitive. It is estimated that the equipment made locally in India is about 30 percent cheaper than imported equivalents due to high import duty" he said.