Bengaluru: The rich and the affluent are using four times the quantity of water used by the average household. While an average house in Bengaluru consumes 85 litres per person per day, the ‘top 10 percentile households’ i.e., the affluent ones, of the total 1,495 households surveyed, make use of 342 litres.
About half of the city’s water consumers use only 65% of the water they need, while 10% of users swallow up more than double the average consumption. This inequality in water consumption patterns was the theme of a recent study done by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), the findings of which were released on Tuesday.
The standard norm for domestic water usage in India is 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd), prescribed by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation. In Bengaluru, 50% of domestic consumers use less than 90 lpcd (around 65% of the standard norm). The study also found that 10% of users consume an average of 342 lpcd.
According to the study, the total water used within BBMP limits is 1,391 MLD (million litres a day), of which 995 MLD is used for domestic purposes. The rest is used for commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) purposes. This 1,391 MLD comprises 678 MLD of Cauvery water, 672 MLD of groundwater and 41 MLD of recycled water.
The excess goes into gardening, washing cars and their premises, the researchers found. According to the researchers, by ‘top 10’, they mean the ‘wealthiest households which are not price-sensitive’, due to which increasing the price per unit will not reduce their usage. The only way to encourage them to reduce their usage is to create awareness and sensitise them towards water issues, the researchers said.
“According to our analysis, consumption increases with wealth and house size, and decreases when a connection is shared by multiple people. Additionally, in the domestic sector, we did not detect any pattern of rising prices, causing consumption to come down,” said Sharachchandra Lele, senior fellow and convenor (Centre for Environment and Development), who led the study.
The three-year study was based on survey data, analysis of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) records, population, household and economic census data, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) billing database and water cess records. The study’s goal was to evaluate the range of options for water and wastewater management, and provide inputs to implement a ‘sustainable, equitable water vision for Bengaluru’ by 2035.
In a clear indication that rainwater harvesting could reduce the city’s dependence on piped water, the study found that 20% of the households which that used rainwater reported a lower dependence on piped water.
In the case of CIIs, it was found that 72% of the estimated 381 MLD of freshwater consumed comprised groundwater and 28% piped supply. Further, if the price of Cauvery water was increased, it was found that CIIs would switch to using more groundwater.
“So far, there has been no study detailing how Bengaluru can live on its own resources by utilising rainwater and recycled wastewater. Our model of Bengaluru’s water, wastewater and lakes suggests that this is feasible. External dependence on Cauvery could be limited by treating wastewater and storing it in lakes.” – Veena Srinivasan, fellow and programme leader, water, land and livelihoods programme, ATREE.
The excess goes into gardening, washing cars and their premises, the researchers found. According to the researchers, by ‘top 10’, they mean the ‘wealthiest households which are not price-sensitive’, due to which increasing the price per unit will not reduce their usage. The only way to encourage them to reduce their usage is to create awareness and sensitise them towards water issues, the researchers said.
Only 20 per cent use rainwater
The study found that only 20 per cent of the overall households surveyed used rainwater. The few households that are making use of rainwater reported a much lower dependence on piped water use, at 18 litres per capita per day (LPCD) less than the average of 123 LPCD. “This suggests that rainwater harvesting remains an untapped resource and has potential to reduce the city’s water needs,” says the study.
