In continuation
to the survey data series, water supply is discussed in this part. Check the previous blogs here.
Water
is supplied by Pune municipal Corporation (PMC). The source is Khadakwasla Dam,
across river Mutha constructed in Mawal taluka of Pune district. The dam is
located at a distance of 12 km from Pune city. It has replenishments from other
dams such as Panshet, Warasgaon and Temghar, located
upstream.
All the
surveyed households in Ghole road ward had access to an individual water tap or
community tap. In addition to PMC water, 14% HH depend on borewells and 4%
depend on tankers for additional water supply in the surveyed area.
The survey
was conducted in May – June 2016 and during that time Pune was reeling under
water shortage. PMC was supplying water
to the city on alternate days as per the water cut schedule started from October 2015 citing less storage in dams due
to poor monsoon. During the survey period, the official water supply
hours were 4 hours on alternate days.
But during
the survey, it was found that a large section of LIG and slum colonies get 24
hrs water supply ( as seen in the graph). As per the dwellers, this was unofficially provided by the elected
representatives and in low lying areas.
Even though
the municipal water supply was only for 4 hours, most of the houses/
apartments/flats store water in over head tanks and get water 24 hrs (more than 80%
households) . Some housing societies had self-imposed restrictions of 6-8 hours per day, to properly manage the stored water. But almost all societies had a good number of water supply hours, as far water available through taps in the house is concerned. Overall the level of
satisfaction with water was found to be good in Ghole road ward.
Since there
is no water meters for domestic connection in Pune, the per capita water usage
could not be found for the households. As per PMC report (Smart city document),
Pune receives 194 litres per capita per day water supply.
WATER WOES:
Even though
the per capita water supply shows good 194 lpcd as against the standard 135 lpcd, it not
uniform across the corporation area. Villages added to PMC in 1997 on the periphery of municipal limits are still suffering under acute water shortage and it is the water tankers that cater drinking water
supply on a regular basis. Also every summer, the problem
gets worse.
Irrigation department has granted Pune a supply of 11.50 TMC
water annually against which the city consumes 14.5 TMC. This is a measure cause of tension between the agriculturists in the surrounding area and the city dwellers. The demand
for water from the city is on rise and water management should be a high priority in the development
issues.
Smart city mission proposes 24*7
water supply with 100% metering for domestic and commercial connections within
5-10 years. Leakage detection in pipes and water audits are also planned in
short term. Metering is a positive step
towards demand management coupled with slab rates that demotivates excessive water usage. Development Plan for Pune proposes measures to augment the supply source
and better transmission and distribution. Since 2007, PMC has
made rooftop rainwater harvesting mandatory for all new buildings. A 5% concession is given for implementing it. But Data over the last few years shows the above incentive is not
lucrative enough to motivate people in that direction. If municipal water supply is to be available 24*7, it further demotivates people from investing in either rainwater harvesting, or waste water treatment and reuse. Another unanswered question in this context is - Is there any relationship between the Development Plan measures to augment water availability for the city with the Smart City Mission target of 24*7 water supply?
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
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