Business Review Dec,07

I SSUES

IN

W ATER R ESOURCE M ANAGEMENT

FOR

U RBAN

C ENTRES
Author: Dr. Bakul Rao, Environmental Consultant1 1 WATER AND URBAN ECOSYSTEM

Water is the lifeline of any civilization. For centuries we have heard about civilizations raising around water bodies and withering away when the water was contaminated or water bodies disappeared or due to excess of water during floods. Floods and droughts affect vast areas of India, transcending state boundaries. Onesixth geographical area of India is drought-prone. Nearly 40 million hectares are flood prone area in the country. Approach to management of droughts and floods has to be coordinated and guided at the national level. Realizing the importance attached to water as an essential element for sustaining all life forms proper planning, development and management of water resources need to be governed keeping in mind the national perspective. This paper tries to analyze the various legislative provisions, the current governmental bodies responsible for the development and regeneration of water bodies in the city of Bangalore and the issues of water management. 2 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

In the Part XI of Constitution which states the relationship between the Union and the States for sharing the legislative and administrative powers, Article 246 divides the areas of legislation (subject wise) between the Union [List 1], State Legislatures and both Parliament and State Legislatures [List III]. The subjects related to water in the 7th Schedule under the three lists are summarized below: Table 1:
LIST NO. I Union List NAME

Subjects related to water in the 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution

SUBJECT NO.
IN

SUBJECT Shipping and navigation on inland waterways, declared by Parliament by law to be national waterways, as regards mechanically propelled vessels; the rule of the road on such waterways. Maritime shipping and navigation, including shipping and navigation on tidal waters; provision of education and training for the mercantile marine and regulation of such education and training provided by States and other agencies. Regulation and development of Inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development

LIST

24

25

56

Contact Details: 202, Belvadi Apartments, 13th Cross, 8th Main, Malleshwaram, Bangalore 560 003 Mobile: +919845682552

LIST NO.

NAME

SUBJECT NO.
IN

SUBJECT under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest. Fishing and fisheries beyond territorial waters Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries. Burials and burial grounds; cremations and cremation grounds. Agriculture, including agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases. Water, that is to say, water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power subject to the provisions of entry 56 of List I. Fisheries Forests Economic and social planning Population control and family planning Ports other than those declared by or under law made by Parliament or existing law to be major ports. Shipping and navigation on inland waterways as regards mechanically propelled vessels and the rule of the road on such waterways, and the carriage of passengers and goods on inland waterways subject to the provisions of List I with respect to national waterways.

LIST

57 II State List 6 10 14 17

21 III Concurrent List 17 A 20 20 A 31 32

All the matters relating to use of water bodies for navigation and fisheries come under the Union List. Also inter-state river development and exploitation of water resources for irrigation and power comes under the Union list. However, development of smaller water bodies like tanks, water supplies etc is a State List subject to the provisions of the subject no 56 of Union List. Sanitation is wholly a state subject Part IX and IXA have been added to the Constitution by 73rd and 74th amendment in 1992 to give constitutional sanction to democracy at the grassroots level through Panchayats and Municipalities. Subjects related to water are included in the Twelfth Schedule for Municipalities of the Constitution. Subject to the provisions of the constitution, the legislature of a state can endow the Municipalities with such powers and authority mentioned in the table below as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self government. Table 2: Subjects related to water included in the Twelfth Schedule for

Municipalities of the Indian Constitution 1. 2. 4. 5. Twelfth Schedule (Article 243W) Urban planning including town planning. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings. Roads and bridges. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.

6. 7. 8. 14. 15. 3

Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management. Fire services. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects. Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds; and electric crematoriums. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals. TENTH - FIVE YEAR PLAN

The Planning Commission, set up in March 1950 by a Resolution of the Government of India, added water supply and sanitation to the national agenda during the first five-year planning period (1951-1956) and has subsequently increased investments in other plans. The Tenth Plans approach to the water supply and sanitation sector takes into account the guiding principles suggested in the New Delhi Declaration, which was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1990. The Tenth Pan states that water needs to be managed as an economic asset rather than a free commodity and that the regeneration of sources shall be the responsibility of every user agency, whether they use water for drinking, irrigation or other purposes. Some salient points of the Plan are: 1. Supply of water to consumers should be based on the principle of effective demand 2. Standard of service should be based on the users as a community willingness to maintain, operate and finance but at the same time, special provisions should be made to meet the needs of the poor who have less capacity to pay. 3. The focus of coverage should not only be on the investment requirements to augment supplies or install additional systems in sanitation and water supply. Instead, greater attention must be paid to the critical issues of institutional restructuring, managerial improvement, better and more equitable service to citizens who must have a greater degree of participation. 4. Focus on achieving sustainability of the sector through the adoption of adequate measures in operation and management (O & M), the financial health of the utilities through efficiency of operations and levy of user charges, and conservation and augmentation of water sources. 5. In view of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, the task of providing and managing water supply and sanitation cannot be separated from the issue of functional and financial autonomy and strengthening of capacity in both rural and urban local bodies. External assistance, involvement of the private sector, and institutional/market finance are

necessary to augment resources and to encourage participatory and innovative management practices. 6. The Manual on Water Supply and Treatment, published in May 1999 by Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, specifies norms and standards of municipal water supply for domestic and non-domestic needs and the recommended minimum per capita water supply levels for designing schemes are: a. Towns with piped water supply but without sewerage system: 70 litres per capita per day (lpcd) b. Cities with piped water supply and existing or planned sewerage system : 135 lpcd c. Metropolitan and mega cities with piped water supply and sewerage : 150 lpcd d. Public stand posts: 40 lpcd 7. The recommended minimum per capita water supply figures exclude unaccounted for water (UFW), which should be limited to 15 per cent. 8. Ensuring equity in distribution of available supplies is one of the key challenges of the urban water supply sector. 9. Due to poor maintenance and depletion of sources may lead to a situation where the per capita availability of water by 2020 may actually decrease, unless corrective action is taken expeditiously. 10. Water supply and sanitation are issues in environmental health as there is a close link between water and health because availability of adequate water is essential for proper sanitation practices. 4 WATER SECTOR PROBLEMS IN AN URBAN SCENARIO

Water sector has been facing many problems in the identifying a source, exploitation of the source, water quality and quantity of supply, distribution, wastewater collection and treatment and recharging of the sources. Some of the problems are discussed below: 4.1 Exploitation of groundwater

Over exploitation of groundwater by the Water Authorities as well as the general public is one of the major problems in the water sector. Most of the semi-urban areas have a water supply system based on groundwater pumping. As the areas graduate into urban areas, efforts are made to give piped water system from water treatment plants which are based on surface water. However, due to inadequacy in the supply, people still depend on groundwater and drilling a tube well / borewell in

the construction phase of a house has become a standard task in South India. As per the State of Environment Report, 2004 there are 5850 public bore well and more than 72000 private bore wells. With the dramatic growth in the housing sector since 2004, the number of private bore wells could well have increased by 40%. The permits already given to drill a bore well by the Municipal Authorities or the State Pollution Control Board are not kept in mind while given new sanctions. This has given rise to violation of scientific norms of not having more than one bore well in a 100 meter diameter. Added to the exploitation of the groundwater there are no mandatory conservation / recharge measures which are implemented by the authorities or the general public. Over concretisation of the city is also adding to the problem of recharge of ground water resources. 4.2 Issues related to rainwater

Climate changes are here to stay. We have been witnessing an erratic pattern of inadequate rainfall followed by spells of intense downpours or cloud bursts. This has lead to inadequate tapping of the resource inputs when it rains heavily. With increased concretisation the infiltration of rain has reduced in the city limits. Also, the green cover in the city which can enhance the uptake of water is also going down. Till recent times there was no emphasis on rainwater harvesting by individual households. With increased bore well failures people are now realising the importance of rainwater harvesting 4.3 Issues related to surface water

Bangalore once had more than 160 lakes and now only 60 odd lakes have water in them. Lakes and tanks which used to be drinking water sources are now filled with domestic sewage, garbage dumps and industrial effluents. While planning the citys expansion the natural drainage system which used to fill the lakes are now being used as storm water drain as well as sewerage drains leading to eutrophication of lakes and finally the death of these water bodies. Added to the rapid growth in housing sector has lead unscrupulous agents to drain lakes or dried them and using the land as prime spots of urban areas and poor policing of unauthorized occupancy have led to housing activity in tank beds. Also in cases of lakes which have not yet dried up, the foreshores have been encroached. In times of heavy rainfall and cloud burst the excess water seeks the original natural drainage and inundates the encroached area, in most cases buildings and apartment complexes. In Bangalore, many areas in Koramangala, Madivala, Bannerghatta road have been witnessing this problem year after year.

4.4

Issues related to water treatment

Most cities do not have proper or adequate water treatment system. Water treatment systems are designed for a certain capacity and a certain quality. In older cities like Bangalore which are growing at a very rapid pace usually the planned augmentation is far out-shooted by the demand. In other words there is always a deficit in the treated water available. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has a total of 994 MLD installed capacity in various treatment plants. The details are given in Table 3. Table 3: Installed Water Treatment Plants of BWSSB and their capacities Source Established Year Potential (in MLD) Cumulative Potential

1. Arkavathi a) Hesarghatta 1896 36 b) T.G.Hally 1933 148 184 2. Cauvery a) Stage-1 1974 135 319 b) Stage-2 1982 135 454 c) Stage-3 1993 270 724 d) Stage-4 2002 270 994 In most cases, as in case of Bangalore also, there has been a deficit in the water supply for the population. This is basically due to the following reasons: 1. There is wide difference in the estimated population growth in a city as compared to the actual growth. Most of the developmental projects are planned keeping a fixed population growth over a period of time. However, the population growth in city is cumulative of the actual births in the city plus the infiltration (i.e. the flux of people coming into the city). Bangalore has seen a rapid growth in past 10 years which could not have been estimated when developmental projects were being planned 10 years ago. 2. With increasing demand there is a financial difficulty in installing treatment plants to augment the existing facility. However, a more serious issue is that of getting a reliable water source every time there is a need. As good surface water is an exhaustible commodity it is becoming very difficult to identify such a source which is near a city and within the financial reach of the water supply authorities. 3. Treatment plants are built to supply water as per the drinking water standards. However, this treated water is used for both potable purposes as well as for non-potable purposes. Water for non-potable purposes like washing and used for flushing does not require good drinking quality water. In doing so the whole purpose of treating water specifically for potable uses is lost. This leads to a loss to the exchequer as well as increases the burden of finding a new water source every time the demand increase

4. The concept of using treated wastewater for non-potable purposes is almost unheard of in our country. In our country no city has dual piped system i.e. one pipe for potable water and the other pipe for washing and flushing purposes. The use of treated wastewater for non-potable purposes would lessen the burden on new water sources as well as help in recovering the costs involved in treating wastewater. Figure 1: Deficit in water supply by BWSSB actuals and estimated for the years 1991 to 2007
575

The green lines are the estimated figures for deficit at 140LPCD The orange lines are the estimated figures for deficit at 200LPCD

BWSSB figures for Deficit at 140LPCD

475

BWSSB figures for Deficit at 200LPCD

375

Deficit in MLD

275

175

75

-25

-125
4 5 6 7 1 2 3 1 2 3 8 9 0 4 5 6 20 0 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 20 0 19 9 20 0 19 9 19 9 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 7

Year

Note:

This table has been derived from BWSSB Data till 2001 and then extrapolated till 2007 assuming that there is an annual 3.8% increase in the population (average obtained from BWSSB data.

4.5

Issues related to water quality

Drinking water standards in India are determined and notified by Bureau of Standards, India (BSI) and Ministry of Health, GoI. The water standards are to be maintained by the various water supplying agencies as per the BSI and GoI standards. Though WHO has rigorous drinking water standards covering more than 90 contaminants, the IS 10500 standard of 1991 provides standards for 34 water quality parameters which refer mostly to the pollution caused due to inorganics rather than organic chemicals. Table 4: Selected drinking water parameters as per the IS 10500 Standard

Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Substance / Characteristics Calcium Magnesium Iron Chloride Sulphate Nitrate Fluoride Total Dissolved Solids pH Total Hardness

Desirable/ Essential Desirable Desirable Essential Essential Desirable Desirable Desirable Desirable Essential Essential

Highest desirable Limit (ppm) 75 30 0.3 250 200 45 1 500 6.5-8.5 300

Maximum Permissible limit in Absence of Alternative source (ppm) 200 100 1 1000 400 100 1.5 2000 No relaxation 600

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1984 of Government of India provides for maintaining surface water quality by the State Pollution Control Boards by empowering them to control and regulate the pollution caused by the industries and municipal local bodies. However, it is interesting to note that the quality of water supplied is to be maintained by the water supplying agencies which have no control on the quality of source water drawn by them. The water supply authorities have to pay water cess to the pollution control board authorities for using the water but there is no legal binding on the water quality of the input sources which these authorities use. The pollution control boards which regulate the pollution in surface water are not legally bound to ensure the quality as well. This has resulted in the pollution control boards is just monitoring the rivers and lakes and playing no role in improving the quality of the water bodies. In USA the safe drinking water rules enacted by the Federal Government empowers the EPA to fix and regulate the drinking water standards. The law also provides for the states to enforce drinking water standards. Such a legal instrument is lacking in India. Hence, the quality of safe drinking water in our country is not up to the mark as in other countries. Drinking water needs to be treated to bring it to the required standards using water treatment plant. Most of the treatment plants have treatment methods consisting of a flash mixer, a clarifloculator and a sand filter. In some cases, a chlorinator is used for disinfection before supplying water. 4.6 Issues related to water supply and distribution

There has been a sustained effort at providing potable water to all households on a priority basis in the whole country. However, in most of the cases though we see success it has been to a large extent in terms of coverage as greater weightage is

given to physical and financial progress rather than the quality, reliability and sustainability of services. Water supply distribution networks in most of urban centres are very old and date to the time when the settlement first started. Most of the piped system have rusted or have been damaged with time leading to physical losses sometimes ranging from 25 to 50 per cent. With low pressures and intermittent supplies, siphoning back often results which in turn results in contamination of water in the distribution network. Low pressures often result in higher areas not getting the adequate water supply thereby resulting in the resident depend on ground water or tankers. The highest priority of water supply authorities is to plug leakages, lay new pipes in areas where the damage is more, upgrade the existing water works and work towards conserving water through proper planning of supply and maintenance of the system. Where supplies are found to be insufficient, concerted efforts should first be taken to improve the efficiency of the existing schemes. New augmentation schemes should be taken up only when the above mentioned steps are found not to meet the needs. Table 5: Source of drinking water in urban Karnataka, urban Bangalore district and Bangalore Municipal Corporation Area Name Source of drinking water in % Tank, Tube River, Well Pond, Spring well Canal Lake 7.5 6.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 5.7 7.8 14.3 11.9 8.0 17.7 24.5 8.2 5.3 14.1 20.9 7.0 4.4 9.0 3.1 2.6 3.2 6.2 2.9 2.2 4.2 6.4 0.1 0.2 1.3 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0

Location Total Within Premises Near Premises Away Total Within Premises Near Premises Away Total Within Premises Near Premises Away

Tap 78.4 85.4 76.1 54.8 79.6 87.7 68.9 51.7 84.2 91.0 70.0 54.9

Hand pump 6.2 1.8 10.3 15.2 4.4 1.6 9.3 11.4 3.8 1.4 10.5 11.0

Any other 0.9 0.1 0.5 4.8 0.7 0.1 0.4 5.7 0.7 0.1 0.5 6.3

Karnataka Urban

Bangalore District Urban

Bangalore M Corp Urban

Note:

1. This table has been derived from Census Data and excludes institutional households. 2. Near premises has been considered if the source availed is within 100 meters for urban areas.

4.7

Issues related to bottled water

There has been a sudden increase in bottled water usage in the past few years due to two main reasons, namely, increase in the salaries leading to use of bottled water as a status symbol and the changed mindset of people that quality of tap water available at public place is deteriorated. Bangalore city alone has around 120 bottled water units manufacturing L, 1 L, 2L, and 20 L mineral water bottles. In addition it has 30 units manufacturing only L, 1 L, 2L capacities. Almost all of these units extract groundwater from borewell and treat the water using a demineralisation unit and a reverse osmosis unit. With a conservative assumption that each unit manufactures 1000 cans of 20L capacity, a total of 2.4 MLD bottled water is produced and 1.6 MLD of rejects are generated. In other words daily 4 million litres of water (roughly 1200 million litres per year) is abstracted from borewells in Bangalore alone. This represents nearly 0.5% of the water treatment facility installed in Bangalore (BWSSB has installed water treatment capacity of 930MLD). In most cases there is a minimum of 40% reject water which contains excess salts. A whooping 480 million litres/year of reject water is generated in Bangalore alone. The reject water is often let out in drains or for application on land as most of the units are small scale units and cannot afford installing and maintaining evaporators. Land application of water containing high concentration of salts leads to loss of soil fertility. 4.8 Issues related to sanitation

Sanitation sector is often treated with least priority in terms of allocation of funds. This sector faces problems in terms of collection of sewage and then its treatment. As in case of water supply so also in case of sanitation there has been emphasis on the coverage rather than a reliable service. In many old parts of cities, sewage lines are damaged leading to soil contamination and in some severe cases lead to groundwater pollution. As shown in Table 6 Bangalore Municipal Corporation has 16.9% of household still using open drainage as waste water outlet and a 4.8% household having no drainage at all. Table 6: Types of latrines and connectivity for waste water outlet in urban Karnataka, urban Bangalore district and Bangalore Municipal Corporation
% having Type of latrine within the house Type of connectivity for waste bathroom in % water outlet in % Area Name facility Pit Water Other No Closed Open No within the latrine closet latrine latrine drainage drainage drainage house Karnataka - Urban 79.1 20.7 44.9 9.7 24.8 41.6 39.3 19.0 Bangalore District - Urban 88.0 22.6 62.7 5.8 8.9 65.2 27.1 7.7 Bangalore M Corp - Urban 89.8 13.2 72.9 6.6 7.3 78.3 16.9 4.8 Note: This table has been derived from Census Data and excludes institutional households.

The BWSSB has currently installed sewage treatment capacity of 834 MLD of which 70 MLD is taken for tertiary treatment. The Tables below gives the details of the plants and capacity of BWSSB Table 7: Sewage Treatment Plants of BWSSB and their installed capacity Present Expanded Capacity Capacity Million Litres/Day 303 163 218 60 90 526 308

Name of Plant Vrishabhavathi valley on Mysore Road Koramangala Chellaghatta valley . Hebbal STP. Total Capacity
Note:

This table has been taken from State of Environment Report and Action Plan, 2003.

Table 8:

Tertiary Sewage Treatment Plants of BWSSB and their installed capacity Million Litres/Day 60 10 Commissioned During 2003 2003

Tertiary Treatment Plants V. Valley Tertiary Treatment Plant Yelahanka Tertiary Treatment Plant
Note:

This table has been taken from http://www.bwssb.org

It is interesting to note that the installed capacity of BWSSB is based on the assumption that 80% of the water supplied by them ends up in the drain as wastewater. However, as of 2003 the BWSSB covers only about 38.6 percent of the geographical area of Bangalore City with sewerage system. The excess in the flow of sewage reaching the treatment plant is due to fact that sources of water other than tap water like borewell, open well, hand pumps and bottled water have not been taken into account which providing for the sewage treatment plant. The major problems in any sanitation facility include: Siltation in the drains over the years of usage which reduce the effective flow or which drains are designed Blocking of drains due to dumping of solid waste leading to anaerobic conditions which pose danger to personnel cleaning the system. The sewage is left in open at many places creating unhygienic conditions in the surrounding area. Sewer lines getting corroded with use leading to leakages and seepage into ground Absence of sewers in slum and isolated areas.

4.9

Management issues

Management issues in water supply and sanitation sector can be summarized as 4.9.1 Financial Issues

In general most of the urban water supply and sewerage authorities have a poor financial position as The revenues are insufficient to even cover operating expenses. The revenue sources are mainly the water tariffs which are a combination of water tax, flat rates, slab rates and volumetric rates. Water as a sector as been given direct subsidy resulting in low revenues for the water supply authorities. In the past when water and wastewater treatment was not technology intensive the lower revenues could meet the operating costs. However, this is not true in todays times. Collection efficiency of the revenues is very low. Lack of proper computerisation and the capacity of the staff often have resulted in low collection. The prevailing subsidy culture both in the water and power sector has resulted in large scale misuse of the resources. Political will to safeguard the subsidy culture been largely responsible for the misuse. Lack of resources for the water sector authorities has resulted in sub-standard service and poor maintenance. With an inability to expand the system to cater to additional demand and unreliable service water authorities have to face consumers who are not willing to pay more. In most the cases where there is a planned scheme for water or wastewater treatment there is no assistance provided for subsequent operation and maintenance (O & M) of the scheme. 4.9.2 Institutional Issues

There is lack of autonomy for most of the water and wastewater authority in terms of generation of their revenues and application of revenues. The institutional building of these authorities in terms of computerisation of various stages of billing and treatment process has been a very slow process. The capacity of most of the staff is either inadequate or has not been upgraded to the latest technology. Information systems necessary for effective management are generally lacking. Water supply and sanitation schemes are both capital and technological intensive. However, in most cases the water authorities have little say in the specifications of

the facility as most of the projects are financed either from the budget, borrowings from financial institutions or the market, and external funding agencies. Here again the financial aspects are given more importance than the requirements of the city and the available technology. 5 ADDRESSING WATER & WASTE WATER SECTOR ISSUES

Though concerned authorities are addressing various issues in their area of regulation, it is necessary to have a coherent and cohesive approach to solve the problems of this vital commodity. Some of the ways to address include: 5.1 Source Identification and Maintenance

With water becoming a scarce commodity, identification of a reliable water source is also becoming scarce. The catchment area of any water source is environmentally very sensitive area. However, with rapid urbanization, industrialization many reliable water sources are being polluted with unscientific sewage, waste and wastewater disposal both by house-holds and industries in the catchment areas. Also, more demand on the water in catchment region results in the water source receiving lesser quantity of water. Conservation measures have to be initiated in the catchment area which would prevent intense industrial and township growth so that the designated water source gets water in good quality and quantity. Proper solid waste management and maintaining the natural drainage patterns in the city would help in preventing flooding during heavy rains and also help in maintaining the tanks and lakes in the city. 5.2 Reclamation of Overexploited Ground Water Sources

As many cities have not become dependent on ground water sources it is in best of the interest to reclaim such sources through proper recharge. Mandatory rainwater harvesting to help recharge groundwater should be introduced in all cities. Also, proper planning of cities which include green space to absorb rainwater naturally, maintain the natural drainage pattern of the region, reclaim the lost lakes and tanks should be carried out. Use of principles of watershed management to areas surrounding urban areas should be carried out in full earnest. Restriction on the number of borewell drawing water in the given area, the pump capacity and pumping time should be introduced. 5.3 Water & Wastewater Treatment Facility

Most of the Water treatment authorities depend heavily on the Government for financing projects. Inability of the states to provide the committed finance has led to project delay and increased project completion costs. The principle of public-private partnership which has seen success in the power sector can also be visited for the

water and wastewater sector. This would help in project accountability, introduction of new technology, better service. It would also help in easing out the subsidy culture and the mindset of people that water is a free commodity. Introduction of technology intensive methods which treat wastewater to an extremely good quality water would also help shift from personal ideas of saving water to adequate usage of water. Use of recycled water for non-potable purpose should be made mandatory with introduction of dual piped system. Treatment Plant Optimization with introduction of computerised system from the abstraction of raw water, water treatment unit processes, water distribution including pressure checks at various stages in pipelines would help save a huge quantity of water. Emphasis on proper maintenance of the treatment system as well as the distribution system should be done. 5.4 Water Taxes

Water tariff should be set at levels that will discourage the excessive use of water. Severe penalties should be levied on those found responsible for leakage and wastage of water. Use of potable water for purposes like washing of vehicles, maintenance of gardens, etc. should be penalised. Rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory and the public should be taxed if it is not followed. 5.5 Capacity Building of Water Authorities

Regular capacity building of the concerned staff of the water and wastewater authorities in technical as well as management filed should be given prime importance. Standard Setting training for maintaining water quality standards during treatment and distribution, in testing laboratory as well as in the service rendered to public should be provided. 6 REFERENCES The Constitution of India The State of Environment Report and Action Plan, 2003, Department of Ecology and Environment, Karnataka State Government. Bangalore water supply and sewerage board website www.bwssb.org The Census Report, 2001.