What the PMC must do - Registering Bore-wells and Certifying Tankers

A large majority of Pune's citizens depend on bore-well and tanker water to meet their water demands. Currently, the PMC is not in a position to meet the ever increasing water demands of Pune’s rapidly increasing population.  Pune city has more than 7000 bore-wells . Due to concretisation of Pune, the 7th largest city in India, natural recharge of ground water through percolation of rain water has reduced from 35% to merely 7%. The demand on ground water far exceeds the recharge rate of ground water table. Due to this over extraction and minimal recharging, the water table is dropping at much faster rate than ever before in history. This is despite the City Engineer’s notification on mandatory RWH (rain water harvesting) systems all new & old buildings within PMC limits !

The response to this notification, at best, has been extremely very poor. Less than 1000 housing societies have implemented RWH systems. Hence, we propose the registration of old bore-wells, and a mandatory approval process for a new bore-well. At the time of registration, the PMC must take an undertaking regarding recharging of the bore-well through rainwater harvesting. It is important to note the potential of rainwater in Pune city. Pune receives about 770 mm of annual average rain fall. It means that each acre or 4000 sq meter of catchment area receives about 25 lakh liters of rainwater annually. A suburb like Viman Nagar has about 30 lakh sq ft / 75 acres of catchment ( roof top ) area. Viman Nagar receives about 1875 lakh liters of rain water on its building roof tops annually. Imagine the amount of rain water falling on Pune City buildings roof top annually ! The bore-well registration with an honest undertaking to recharging will ensure that the majority of this rain water will recharge our ground water table. The PMC needs to take this decision in consultation with all city stakeholders. If done, it will be a model that can be replicated in all across cities in India.

Tanker Water - as of date, there are no rules on the upkeep of the of the tankers that transport this water. There are no rules for periodic checks regarding potability of water inside the tanker for human consumption. During my time in the Army, I have personally seen all kinds of fungal and bacterial growth inside these tankers, which could lead to diseases, and, in extreme cases, even death. Our citizens are buying unsafe water. Essentially, they are paying someone for water that could kill them. 7 million man days are lost every year in India due to water borne diseases. A significant percentage of these are caused by tanker delivered water. The PMC must lay down regulations similar to those laid down by India’s Defence Forces.

In in the Indian Army, every water tanker reports to a designated workshop every year for a complete checkup. While in the workshop, the tanker is scrubbed from the inside and repainted with an anti-fungal water proofing paint. Once it is dry, water is kept in the tanker for 72 hours. After this, the water is tested by medical authorities for its fitness in respect of human consumption. If it is found to be safe and potable, a certificate is issued accordingly, permitting the use of the tanker for the next 12 months. This ensures health of the troops.

Surely, if something like this can be done by the Army to keep it’s soldiers safe, the PMC has a similar responsibility to the citizens of Pune. After all, many people working for the PMC themselves require tanker water.

These steps, if taken by the PMC, will not only help improve Pune’s ground water table, but will also ensure availability of safe water through water tankers.       

The proceedings of the RWH Workshop with the Pune Municipal Corporation

The City Engineer, Pune through a notification in 2009, made Rain water harvesting mandatory for all new constructions in Pune. PMC also offered 5 % discount to those properties who implement RWH . The aim of this policy was to improve falling ground water levels in the city. However, a need was noticed to train PMC engineers on modern RWH systems & its benefits to enable them to carry out better inspections of the RWH systems implemented on different properties. 

Keeping this in mind, Col S G Dalvi, Directory of Parjanya and NSCC, Pune approached the Commissioner of Pune, to organise a workshop. The Commissioner (PMC) and the City Engineer agreed to the proposal. On Friday 16 Jan 2015, the workshop was conducted from 3.30 pm to 6.00 pm at the Capt Wadke auditorium in Corporation Building. Col S G Dalvi conducted the workshop. 

About 40 PMC engineers, members of the NSCC Pune and some activists like Mr Niranjan Upasani attended the workshop. The president of NSCC Pune Mr Satish Khot inaugurated the workshop. He welcomed the audience.  He appreciated the introduction of RWH notification by PMC City Engineer. He emphasised the need for proper implementation of the RWH policy. He said, that during the discussion, with Col Dalvi, it was noticed that due to lack of awareness about RWH Systems & Benefits among PMC Engineers , proper audit / test of RWH systems could not be carried out. 

Col S G Dalvi thanked the Commissioner, the City Engineer & NSCC Pune and Mr Satish Khot for organising the workshop. He explained importance & potential of  rain water. Rain water is a primary source of water on our planet. Despite being aqueous planet, only 1 % of total water is fit for consumption on the planet. Of this 1 % India’s share is only 4 % where as our population share is 17 % of world’s population. Pune receives about 770 mm of annual average rain fall. It means 1000 sq ft of catchment area receives about 65,000 liters of rain water or 1 acre of land in Pune receives about 25 lakh liters of rain water. Pune city is located along three rivers Mula, Mutha & Pawana , also it has four man made dams Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon & Temghar to cater for city water needs. He explained reasons for present water crisis in Pune city. The present water crisis in Pune is mainly due to :

1. Poor water management – Housing societies in fringe areas as well as newly constructed colonies get less than adequate water from the PMC, thereby increasing their dependency on water tankers.
2. Water loss of 40% from source to our home - This is mainly due to leaking old pipes, which, in some cases, are up to 50 years old.
3. Un-equal water distribution – Per capita water supply ranging from 300 liters per to about 50 liters as against the legislated 135 liters.
4. Poor implementation of Rain Water Harvesting policy – The RWH policy came in to force in 2009  for all the new constructions as a mandatory arrangement. For old constructions, a 5 % property tax rebate was offered for those who implemented RWH systems. However there is no proper implementation of the policy.
5. no water conservation policy - people wash their cars every day without realising that their ability to pay for water also means there is someone who is being deprived of their drinking water.
   

Col Dalvi highlighted the salient points of Govt Of Maharashtra on Rain Water Harvesting, titled , SHIVKAALIN PAANI  SAATHAVAN YOJANA, of FEB 2002.

He explained the present status of the surface water , which is highly polluted due to entry of untreated domestic sewage as well as untreated industrial effluents. Due to concretisation of city & infrastructure developments the percolation rate of rain water is drastically reduced from 35 % to about 6 to 8 %. The rapid growth of city’s population has put strain on water management. Resulting in citizens depending more on ground water through bore wells as well as on Un hygienic Tanker water. In the absence of natural & artificial recharge of ground water , city water table is falling rapidly. Hence the urgent need for artificial recharge of ground water through bore wells by using RWH systems. 

Col Dalvi then explained, with the help of pictures, the workings of the modern rain water harvesting system. The salient features of the RWH systems & its advantage over other RWH systems was explained to the audience. The types of storage of rain water as well as types of RWH Filters was explained to all present. Three case studies were discussed with the audience, explaining them the benefits of the RWH system . The major benefits are increased yield of the bore well, very reduced dependency on tanker water, reduction in electricity bills due to increased water table, in addition drastic reduction in carbon foot print of the society due to reduction in Tankers. On an average reduction of 1 tanker approximately reduces generation of 8 Kg of CO2 . 

In the end stage was opened for questions by the audience, they asked many questions, ranging from working of filters, working of system, testing methods, costing of system etc. Mr. Kshirsagar, from PMC gave vote of thanks, he said this work shop was an eye opener for all the PMC staff present & thanked Col Dalvi for conducting the educative & informative workshop.  

  

Inadequate water management in Pune - Some solutions

Pune city has been developed on three major rivers - Mula, Mutha, & Pavana. To meet its daily water requirements, Pune has 4 functional dams located at Kahadakwasla and Panshet. Pune also receives annual average rainfall of 770 mm. For rooftop water harvesting purposes, it means 1000 sq ft of catchment area receives approximately 70,000 liters of rain water every year. 1 acre of land receives about 25 lakh litres of water every year, which can also be harvested.
 
Pune is seventh largest city in India and is growing very rapidly. Nearly 1 crore sq. ft. of roof top area is added in the city limits of Pune annually. The annual potential of this new roof top is approx. 66 crore litres of rain water.  Despite this, Pune faces an ever growing water problem to meet the water demands of its rising population and industry.
 
The present water crisis in Pune is mainly due to:
1.Poor water management – Housing societies in fringe areas as well as newly constructed colonies get less than adequate water from the PMC, thereby increasing their dependence on water tankers.
2. Water loss of 40% from source to home - This is mainly due to leaky old pipes, which, in some cases, are up to 50 years old.
3. Un-equal water distribution – Per capita water supply ranging from 50 litres per to about 300 litres as against the legislated 135 litres.
4. Poor implementation of Rain Water Harvesting policy – The RWH policy came in to force in 2009 for all new constructions as a mandatory requirement. For old constructions, a 5% property tax rebate was offered for those who implemented RWH systems. However, neither is this being implemented, nor is the PMC enforcing it. 
5. Water wastage - people wash their cars every day without realizing that their ability to pay for water also means there is someone who is being deprived of their drinking water.
6. Disilting Dams – When rivers flow into dams, they also brings with it stones, top soil and other substances picked up along the way. These get accumulated at the bottom of the dam. Over time, this ‘silt’ builds up, and reduces the water capacity of the dam – so even though the dam appears ‘full’, in reality it actually isn’t.
 
To add to these problems, the MIDC imposes a ban on use Rain water Harvesting Systems by industrial units based in MIDC areas. It permits RWH systems on Industrial Structures, but does not allow the harvested rain water to be used. Their policy of being the sole provider of industrial water requirements is not only archaic, it is anti-environment and causing hardships to the citizens. This short sighted policy was created with the sole aim of generating revenue without understanding the social implications. 

The average annual rain fall across the state of Maharashtra is 1300 mm. It varies from 400 mm to 6000 mm. using the state average of 1300 mm, the average annual RWH potential per acre is roughly 4.4 million litres. The total potential across 1,30,000 acres, which is the total MIDC rooftop area, is enormous. The Hinjewadi IT park Pune Phase 1 & 2 has a total land holding of approximately 440 acres. The annual rainwater potential, using Pune’s average figures of 770 mm, is about 1100 Million litres. This potential, if used judiciously, will make large amounts of water available for agriculture & domestic usage. At the same time, implementing RWH schemes on such large areas will help improve ground water levels and improve ground water quality by diluting the salts that make water ‘hard’. It will also help reduce the carbon footprint, by ensuring that housing societies can get piped water, rather than using water transported by diesel guzzling water tankers.
 
Measures to be taken to improve city water management
1. Citizen awareness campaigns about the potential of rain water & the benefits of Rain Water Harvesting systems to improve falling water table
2.   Strict implementation of 2009 RWH policy by PMC.
3. Training of PMC Engineers on RWH systems & testing before issuing NOCs to new buildings as well as old buildings.
4.  Declaring Open / Bore wells as state property , bore well to be dug only by permission from PMC with an undertaking to recharge using RWH systems
5.   De-silting of city dams to improve their storage potential.
6.   Planned replacement of old water pipes to reduce leakage from 40% to 0 % in a phased manner.
7.   To develop the infrastructure necessary to equalize water distribution in the city.
8. To legislate and enforce a new water conservation policy especially for washing of vehicles in City. 25 lakh vehicles in city consume about 1 lakh litre of water daily only for washing.
9.  Govt. of Maharashtra should be requested to change existing RWH policy of MIDC & make RWH mandatory for all MIDC units.
10. Strict implementation of Govt. of Maharashtra the Feb 2002 GR titled SHIV KAALIN PAANI SAATHVAN YOJANA, which makes Roof Top RWH mandatory for all Govt. & Public buildings in the State.
 
Grahak Hitwardhini Pune proposes coordinating a conference / interactive seminar involving, PMC, MIDC, MCCIA, Representatives of the Public & GRAHAK HITWARDHINI PUNE, to be chaired by a Guardian Minister of Pune along with the elected representatives from city. We are confident that we can change water management of the city, making it a model that can be implemented across India. Not only improve ground water level of the city, but it will also help reduce CO2 generation considerably. After all, we do not own the planet. We have only borrowed it from our future generations.      

Mitigating Climate Change - What can we do.

In my last article I wrote about the effects of global warming on Indian climate. Globally, all nations are urgently working on measures to reduce generation of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The next global conference on Climate Change is being held in Paris in Dec 2015. IPCC, the international body on Climate Change has, in its last report, said that unless efforts are made to reduce use of Fossil Fuels to ZERO by 2050, our world will keep facing increasingly intense climatic events, which will have an adverse effect on all of us. While we wait for countries and governments to enact policies, it our responsibility as citizens to do reduce the generation of GHGs in their own neighbourhood. These are not difficult. Here are a some of these techniques:

1.      Tree Plantation - Trees play a very crucial role in maintaining the CO2 / Oxygen balance in the nature. They are the most cost effective solution to reduce pollution & improve air quality. They absorb CO2 & release Oxygen. However, trees are rampantly cut across the country. Every year, there is "Tree Plantation" drive as an annual ritual. These trees have a very minimal survival rate, and most trees die because no one looks after them. What is required, is tree plantation drive with an aim to ensure maximum survival of trees. Our aim should be to plant native fruiting tree species for better survival rate and to balance the local eco-system. In 5 to 10 years such a drive will start showing results. It is a slow, but a very long lasting & effective process. It also provides habitat and food to native birds & wild life.

2.      Water Management - Water is an all important natural resource. This planet can survive without this resource, but we can't. However, despite this, we have polluted this source drastically. Our "use, pollute & discard" attitude towards water needs to be changed. Unsustainable overdrawing of ground water is reducing our ground water table at alarming rate. Recharging of ground water through rain water harvesting will help improve water table. This will reduce our dependence on tanker water. Reduction of 1 Water Tanker a day per bore / open well will help reduce about 8 Kg of CO2 assuming the use of 3 liters of fuel for a 20 km round trip. India has thousands of cities, towns and villages dependent on water tankers for their daily water needs. These places, collectively, have thousands of bore / open wells. Reduction by even a single tanker at each of these bore wells across India, will reduce tonnes of CO2 emissions across the country. Similarly as the water table rises the electrical energy required to draw the water will also be less. Saving of 1 Kwh of energy will help reduce CO2 emissions by about 0.5 kg. In our society in Viman Nagar in Pune, our daily dependence has reduced to ZERO from 3 tankers, saving of about 24 kgs of CO2 a day or about 26,400 Kgs of CO2 per year, Pune has about 7000 bore wells, imagine the impact on city’s environment if every bore well has recharge system in place  , it amounts to reduction of 56 tonnes of CO2 generation daily. This is only considering ONLY ONE TANKER reduction per bore well per day.

3.      Vehicles Use - Pune city has 25 lakh registered vehicles. Hundreds of vehicles are added to our streets every day. Our city air is highly polluted. As a citizen of this city, not only do we have to take care of the health of our family, but also of our environment. Vehicles not only pollute our city, but also add to our traffic problems. Even if we consider that only 50 % of these vehicles are on road every day it amounts about 1.2 Million vehicles.  If their usage is reduced even by ONE KM per day, it amounts to 12 lakh kms. Considering 10 kms to a liter of fuel it means daily 12,000 liters of fuel saved per day. This will remove 30 tonnes of CO2 from city environment DAILY. It will reduce considerable amount of traffic problems, improve our air quality and improve our quality of life.

4.      Solid Waste Management - As per Supreme Court directions, every house hold must segregate kitchen waste as DRY & WET garbage & dispose of wet garbage in the society / residence area. Decomposing wet garbage generates methane, a gas that is more dangerous than CO2 in climate change. Composting of wet garbage will reduce release of methane, thereby, reducing the effects of GHGs on our climate.

5.      Use Of Electrical Energy saving Measures - Changing a 40 watt tube-light with 10 watts of CFL bulb will reduce considerable amount of electrical energy. Every 1 kwh energy saving will help reduce 0.5 Kg of CO2 generation. In our society we replaced our 135 tube lights with 85 CFL bulbs of 10 watt capacity. This has helped reduce our monthly energy bill reduction from Rs 20,000 to about Rs 14,000/- per month, and has reduced our CO2 emissions. 

 

All these steps are do-able by every citizen like you & I. If we could successfully do recharging of ground water through Rain Water harvesting System, dispose  about 35 kgs of wet kitchen waste through composting & using energy saving measures to reduce electrical energy consumption, every hose hold, every society in city too can implement same. This way, not only can we save Pune's environment, but we can also become a model city in the country. If every city, town & village in the country implement these cost effective & easy measures, it will help India's war against Global Warming in a big way. Let this be our 2015 RESOLUTION. 

Climate Change and India

Extreme or unusual weather is a regular occurrence these days. Every day we read in our newspapers or listen on TV / Radio about unusual climatic events occurring worldwide. Not only are these events causing extreme hardships, they are also impacting our way of life. The Air Asia disaster, that happened last month, is being blamed on an extreme weather event that led to the loss of more than a hundred lives. 

Not everything is so drastic however. Take the present winter for example - falling temperatures are breaking records almost on a daily basis. Unusually heavy fog was noticed in Chennai on 04 Jan 2014, disrupting flight schedules. Northern India is also suffering from record cold winter temperatures,Weather Underground reported. In Uttar Pradesh, home to New Delhi, 175 people have died from the cold. The high on Jan. 2 was just 49.6 F (9.8 C), the coldest daily maximum in 44 years.

However, winter also brings with it another problem. In order to keep warm, poor and homeless people burn whatever they can find. In the city's surroundings, even tyres, plastics and tubes are burnt and these release cancer-causing chemicals like dioxin. Burning dry leaves mainly releases PM10 ( coarse pollution particles) and carbon monoxide, but burning tyres releases dioxin, black carbon and PM 2.5 (fine pollution particles which get stuck in our lungs) which adds to the pollution burden in our cities. 27 of our states are in high risk disaster zones (see map).

Global warming has led to increase in the frequency & intensity of such climatic events which cause tremendous problems. Recent studies have indicated that in 2007-2008 our country stood 3rd highest in the world as affected by such climatic disasters. 18 such events occurred in one single year resulting in heavy loss to human lives, unprecedented damage to farm products, infrastructure etc. Such climatic events are floods, storms, hurricanes, hailstorms , droughts etc. If timely actions at the National / State level are not planned & implemented , this may result in a 40% drop in major farm produce which in turn will lead to starvation and social problems. It can also reduce our GDP by almost 9 %. 

I’ve compiled a small list of some of the many extreme events that have affected out country in the last few decades:

FLOODS:

BIHAR - This state has been facing regular floods almost regularly, with extreme flooding in 1987 & 2008 leading to the loss of thousands of lives and causing crores of damage.

GUJRAT – In 2005, from 30 Jun to 11 Jul most of the state was inundated by floods that affected large parts of India and Pakistan.

MAHARASHTRA - In July 2005 very heavy rains wrecked havoc in places like Mumbai, Chiplun, Kalyan, Ratnagiri. 26 July 2005 is remembered as a black day in the history of Mumbai when more than 500 mm of rain fell in less than 24 hours. The disaster it caused was compounded by the reckless development and decades of corrupt politicians who ensured that the Mithi River was sold to unscrupulous property developers, instead of preserving as a river and a flood drainage system.

SOUTH INDIAN FLOODS – In 2007 almost all the states in southern India were hit hard by floods , due to very heavy rains lasting 15 days. These were the worst floods in living memory.

2009 FLOODS- Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Gujrat & some of the NE Indian states damaged millions of hectares of agriculture produce, besides leading to a loss of hundreds of human lives.

LADAKH – on 6 Aug 2010 this area was devastated by the torrential rains followed by heavy mud slides causing the area to get cut off for a long period of time.

2011 Floods - West Bengal, Assam, & Bihar were affected by exceptionally heavy floods.

2012 Floods- Uttarakhand was devastated by floods. The whole world took notice of this tragic event. The neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh was also badly affected by the floods

2014 Floods - J & K experienced wrath of the nature this time around. Even Assam, on the other side of the country, was badly affected by the floods.

DROUGHTS- 68 % of India’s total Agriculture land is draught prone. This is due to the fact that majority of our farming sector still depends on rains for farm produce. In the last few years, our rainfall has become very unpredictable in its schedule. Maharashtra , Marathvada & the Vidharba region have been faced with a deficit monsoonal rain for last few years. Not only has this affected farm produce, but this has led to hundreds of farmers committing suicide. Currently, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa, Bihar & AP are facing severe drought. Punjab & Haryana have joined the drought list for the first time this year.

REASONS - Scientists across the globe are increasingly agreeing that climate change is mainly ‘anthropogenic’, or caused due to human actions. Unchecked population growth, rapid deforestation especially in developing nations, Industrialisation, use of Fossil fuels are but a few main reasons of rise in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, resulting in our current climate chaos. This has caused global unpredictability in climate. Unless timely actions are taken to correct the situation we will be heading towards total disaster world over. 

 WHAT CAN YOU DO – We can all make a difference. Wherever possible, do the right thing. Recycle, use energy efficient appliance, harvest rainwater, use public transport where possible – or car pool with other people. If you know any elected members of parliament, make sure you make them aware of your concern for the environment.