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.
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.
we should take this movement up to the house oweners.
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