Notes from our meeting with Prof. M. Sekhar, Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg., Indian Institute of Science.

Participants: Shekhar Mittal, Neha Dar, Deepak Rajanna.

Our discussion mainly revolved around the IISc report on groundwater commissioned by the BMRCL. See bmrc.co.in/pdf/IISc-Report.pdf. Two important sources of information exist on the ground water situation in Bangalore.

1. The Department of Mines and Geology which has 8 collection points spread around Bangalore city that capture information on the ground water on a monthly basis. However, this data might not be available to the general public in it's raw form. Prof. Sekhar has given us references in the department who will be able to lend us the reports that they generate out of this data. See page 26 for more information; the "plus" signs on the map indicate the sampling locations.

2. IISc's ground water report for BMRCL. The main focus of the IISc Report is the impact of the underground sections of the metro on the ground water flow in Bangalore.

Building on to the post made here and here

Janaagraha is collecting collecting info related to BWSSB water supply in all the wards. They need volunteers who  agree to get pressure meters installed in their houses and provide water samples to Janagrahaa. Janagrahaa folks will come to your house and install the meter themselves. You won't have to do anything.

The data generated will be useful for the water index which we are doing at Praja as well.

Volunteering for this requires no effort at all so I hope anybody who sees this post should agree to doing it.

Kindly make a comment giving your details: Area of Residence, Ward Number if you know it, contact details etc.

Thanks

Shekhar Mittal

Attendees: Shekhar Mittal, Jim Gowda, Zenrainman Sir, Manjari Vishnoi, Neha Dar

We met Mr Thippeswamy, Retd. Chief Engineer (BWSSB) on Saturday at IISc. Meeting minutes captured below.

• Mr. Thippeswamy reviewed our initial list of parameters and had the following remarks:       

             (1) Coverage - As per the Act, BWSSB must provide water supply to Bangalore Metropolitan Area. Only 50% has been covered.

             (2) Unaccounted for Water: This is really a subset of Non-revenue water. Both physical and commercial. Water is also lost due to cleaning of reservoirs, unexpected pipe bursts, supply to fire hydrants, etc.

             (3) Slum Coverage: It is not the BWSSB 's prerogative to proactively provide coverage to slums. Slum Clearance Boards/BBMP/BDA come to them with proposals, which they then implement.

What is the Bangalore Water Index?

The Bangalore Water Index project aims to develop a means of quantifying the 'water health' of the city. This published index will track a judiciously selected set of parameters relevant to the water domain, using data released by government bodies like the BWSSB, technical information provided by NGOs and research institutions, information extracted through RTIs, as well as crowdsourced feedback from citizens.

Over a period of time, the index will draw a comparative picture of the quality, quantity, accessibility and reliability of water supply across various demographics and parts of the city, as well the responsiveness and effectiveness of government bodies in charge.


Why do we need a Water Index?