(In Half 1 of this collection, we mentioned a wide range of issues and options on a coverage degree about Bengaluru’s present water disaster, addressing points starting from state failure to reviving lakes, recharging town’s groundwater, constructing open recharge wells, and utilizing handled wastewater as a real useful resource. Right here we’ll focus on what residents can do to assist!)

Regardless of problems with state capability and the necessity to recalibrate water coverage in Bengaluru, there’s a lot residents can do to mitigate the water shortage drawback.

Talking to The Higher India, S Vishwanath, a civil engineer and concrete planner with greater than three a long time of expertise within the water and sanitation sector, says, “If I do rainwater harvesting, eat much less water, recycle greywater, and ensure to minimise my demand, then there’s some quantity of water which I can save inside my entire zone. And the administration can switch a few of my zone’s water to a different which is going through shortage.”

For these dwelling within the affected space, particularly in residence complexes with 20 items or extra (which are mandated to have their wastewater therapy plant), Vishwanath believes that in the event that they be sure that their wastewater therapy vegetation are working effectively, then they’ll fulfil all their non-potable water necessities from these techniques.

“If residents do rainwater harvesting effectively, their borewells could have water. If the group works across the lakes of their neighbourhood, comes collectively, and makes certain that the lake is cleaned up and de-silted together with the State, then these water our bodies will have the ability to obtain rainwater and recharge the aquifer. Within the meantime, the surplus water from their STPs which are effectively handled may be led into these lakes in order that it recharges the aquifers. I consider these are all of the steps that residents need to take to guard town’s water assets,” he recommends.

However what steps has he taken in his own residence to scale back water consumption?

“Apart from being aware of the quantity of water you eat, you may deploy applied sciences like aerators in your faucets or bathe heads. You be sure that the water you accumulate after cleansing your dishes is used to water your vegetation or the backyard that you’ve,” he says.

“In my case, I be sure all of the greywater is recycled. I be sure to gather the wastewater from my washer and half-bucket tub water. I take advantage of eco-friendly soaps and detergents which do not need phosphates and phthalates. Which means the wastewater from bathing or washing garments can be utilized for swabbing the ground, watering the terrace backyard, and cleansing the automobile. I’ve a dry compost bathroom which requires no water for the final 25 years. After all, this may increasingly appear a bit excessive to some nevertheless it has labored for me,” he provides.

Vishwanath’s residence additionally has rainwater harvesting techniques which are working optimally.

“Although the final rains within the metropolis have been in November, our 1,000-litre rain barrel nonetheless has sufficient water for our ingesting and cooking wants until June. I’ve taken away vegetation which might have in any other case grown and left the backyard to be dry in order that when the rains come, I can restart my backyard. Proper now, I solely have drought-tolerant vegetation,” he shares.

“Additionally, I be sure to make use of much less vitality (electrical energy). The much less vitality I take advantage of, the extra water you’re saving in some dam or thermal energy plant. It’s important to be aware of the vitality you employ and in regards to the meals you eat so that you don’t waste it. These are among the steps I’ve taken,” he explains.

‘How can I scale back my water consumption by 50%?’

One of many factors talked about by Vishwanath in decreasing his water consumption was the usage of aerators. It’s one of many easiest hacks you may undertake in your house to scale back water consumption.

So, The Higher India spoke to Shashidhara Kumaraswamy, the co-founder of EverythingECO, a Bengaluru-based startup addressing the challenges of water and waste administration. Among the many merchandise EverythingECO manufactures are aerators you could connect to washroom or kitchen faucets and restrictors for bathe heads and well being taps.

“Karunaprasada Kanavi and I began EverythingECO with a imaginative and prescient in 2016 to deliver sustainability to companies and houses, addressing the challenges of water and waste administration. Earlier than moving into enterprise, we checked out how individuals and totally different companies have been utilizing water, what their day by day consumption ranges have been, and began pondering of customised options required for every of them,” says Shashidhara.

When Shashidhara and his co-founder did an in depth audit on water consumption ranges throughout a number of places in Bengaluru, they discovered that every enterprise or residential unit has particular necessities primarily based on its utilization sample. In sure places, they discovered the stream charge measured in hand washing faucets to be round 15 to 16 litres per minute.

“Sometimes, now we have noticed that while you purchase faucets of ordinary fittings, their stream charge is between 14 to 18 litres per minute primarily based on water strain. Most fixtures bought commercially do not need any aerators. They arrive with filters to filter out the mud. These filters don’t do the job of water conservation, however solely make sure the laminar stream of water,” he informs.

Throughout this audit, they concluded that faucets for hand washing ought to by no means have a stream charge of greater than 3 litres per minute. Equally, for kitchens, they understood that folks required the next stream charge however no more than 6 to eight litres per minute. “In a super situation, no faucet ought to have a stream charge of greater than 6 litres a minute,” explains Shashidhara.

“After we take a look at a number of use instances by way of hospitals, eating places, and bulk washing areas, their necessities are very totally different and never everybody can dwell with spray faucets releasing 3 litres a minute. We began taking a look at customized designs and options. Our firm does complete water audits for companies and gives options for various sizes of faucets, addressing various sorts of stream charges which are required, and implementing them end-to-end,” he provides.

Aerators manufactured by EverythingECO begin with stream charges (per minute) of 1 litre, 3 litres, 4 litres, and 6 litres. “Aerators with a stream charge of 0.5 and 1 litre per minute often provide a mist-type stream. However for business and residential flats, this stream charge is simply too low to scrub fingers. For hand wash faucets, our aerator which restricts stream charges to three litres a minute is standard throughout all sectors. Many individuals go for 3 litres a minute aerator for his or her kitchen faucets as effectively, as a result of it successfully covers a bigger space for laundry utensils. If prospects need laminar stream of their kitchen faucets, then they go for 4 or 6 litres a minute aerators,” claims Shashidhara.

“Restrictors scale back the quantity of water that’s popping out from the pipes or the entry factors. You’ll be able to connect these restrictors to older sort faucets, well being taps and bathe heads and scale back the stream charge to anyplace between 6 to 9 litres a minute. Relying on the water strain of their bathe heads, individuals can use restrictors to restrict the stream charge to six to 9 litres,” he provides.

Shashidhara notes that there are a few questions residents ought to reply if they’re critical about decreasing private water consumption.

1) What’s my day by day consumption and the place do I take advantage of my water?

In different phrases, how a lot water do I take advantage of for laundry my fingers, bathing, shaving, brushing, washing garments and utensils, and so on?

2) Understanding why I take advantage of X quantity of water in a day.

For instance, if I’m utilizing 400 litres of water a day, do I want this a lot to dwell effectively? “Basic dwelling requires 3 litres of ingesting, 5 litres of cooking (per day) and the remaining we’re washing and flushing down the drain,” he says.

3) How do I scale back my day by day water consumption by 50%?

“And then you definately implement options obtainable together with aerators, restrictors, and utilizing low-flush bathrooms. Taking a shorter bathe helps save water in comparison with a 20-minute bathe. Attaching a restrictor with a stream charge of 6 litres to 7 litres per minute to an present bathe head will assist scale back water wastage by 50%,” he explains.

Having stated that, Shashidhara believes actual water financial savings come from a collective effort relatively than any person altering a single faucet.

“You additionally need to undertake a mechanism to scale back your utilisation. For instance, for those who set up an aerator in your kitchen faucet, however you might be washing utensils for an extended interval, then you definately’re not decreasing water consumption. You might find yourself consuming extra water than earlier than. It’s essential be cognizant of the way you’re going to make use of water and limit the quantity popping out from the faucets and bathe heads,” he provides.

“Within the metropolis, now we have 1 crore 40 lakh inhabitants, 150 litres of water consumption per particular person per day is required,” stated Bangalore Water Provide & Sewerage Board (BWSSB) chairperson Dr V Ram Prasath Manohar, in response to a information report on 13 March 2024.

Certainly, we don’t have to make use of this a lot water on a given day and may discover methods to avoid wasting.

Standardisation of faucets

“One problem now we have noticed lately is that a whole lot of faucet designs are altering. This is a vital facet I wish to spotlight,” explains Shashidhara.

“There’s a dire want for standardisation throughout the business, builders, and Authorities on standardising fixtures backed by a ranking system for water conservation or effectivity. Except standardisation units in, new faucet designs will emerge and not one of the aerators will likely be suitable. When that occurs, stream charges return to 16 litres/minute,” he provides.

In line with The Hindu in April 2023, the Union Authorities was bringing in a star ranking system for water fixtures much like the rankings {of electrical} home equipment. “The brand new ranking system would have 3, 4 and 5-star water fixtures primarily based on their water effectivity and this ranking system would come underneath one umbrella known as Bharat Faucet,” the report stated.

“Now we have now roped within the Indian Plumbing Affiliation and all producers to undertake and promote these requirements and usher in water-efficient fixtures. Bharat Faucet is a collaborative effort which was formulated underneath AMRUT 2.0 to drive water effectivity, and this may be achieved provided that water retailers are environment friendly, be it sanitary fixtures or faucets,” stated D Thara, Further Secretary, MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and City Affairs) and Mission Director, AMRUT 2.0.

Since this report, nevertheless, there have been no information studies of this initiative’s progress.

Saving toilet-flushing water

Apart from attaching aerators and restrictors in your house, one other step you may take is to scale back the quantity of water you employ to flush bathrooms. In line with one estimate, town is flushing out an unbelievable 486.5 million litres of water day by day. Folks can set up a low-flush bathroom, use non-potable handled water as an alternative of freshwater, or undertake hacks just like the one developed by Subburaman M — a septuagenarian and resident of Trichy, Tamil Nadu, who gained a Padma Shri for enhancing sanitation in rural areas.

Subburaman is the founding father of the Society for Group Organisation and Folks’s Schooling (SCOPE) — a non-profit which has put in 1.2 lakh bathrooms throughout India. In 2020, he developed a easy resolution in his residence that enables greywater generated from washing fingers for use for flushing the bathroom as an alternative of contemporary water.

Talking to The Higher India in April 2021, he stated, “In the course of the lockdown interval, everybody began washing their fingers usually to remain secure from coronavirus. Nonetheless, many didn’t take into consideration saving water whereas doing so. Some individuals even maintain the water working whereas lathering cleaning soap for 20 seconds. This results in huge wastage. So I began to think about methods we might reuse this water,” says Subburaman, including that he was impressed by an image of a Japanese bathroom that had a washbasin built-in with a rest room.

What Subburaman did was buy a brand new wash basin and match it proper on high of a Western-style bathroom. Nonetheless, he says that an outdated one may be eliminated and refitted too.

“The concept was to attach the basin to the bathroom’s flush tank. To take action, the exit pipe from the basin was inserted on high of the flush tank by a gap. The slicing work was achieved with the assistance of a plumber,” stated Subburaman. As soon as the 2 have been fitted, they have been sealed in place, and the water connection was directed solely to the washbasin.

For the previous six months earlier than chatting with The Higher India, he stated it was working completely and confronted no damages or leakages.

He even supplied a five-step handbook on how you are able to do the identical at your private home:

Step 1: With assist from a plumber, set up an outdated/new washbasin on the wall over the bathroom’s flush tank.

Step 2: Create a gap, as massive because the outlet pipe, on the flush tank.

Step 3: As soon as the washbasin is mounted, insert the outlet pipe into the flush tank.

Step 4: Direct the water provide to the washbasin and switch off the valve resulting in the bathroom.

Step 5: Open the faucet and let the water run for just a few seconds to verify for any leakages.

It takes as much as three or 4 hand washes to replenish the flush tank. To keep away from touching the faucet whereas washing fingers, he additionally had a foot pedal put in which he says is non-obligatory.

Encouraging Bengaluru’s residents

There may be one factor the native administration — whether or not it’s the BBMP or the State Authorities — can do to encourage its residents to save lots of water as an alternative of constructing one other app. They will take inspiration from one of many many steps that town of Cape City in South Africa took.

What did they do?

They revealed an in depth water map of town combining water utilization knowledge with homes colour-coded primarily based on how a lot water each was consuming. Solely these homes which hit water-consumption/saving targets set by the administration have been acknowledged. Metropolis directors knew which homes weren’t assembly their targets, however they created a map to not disgrace anybody however to recognise those who did meet their targets.

Because the City Sustainability Trade famous in a preferred case examine, “the Water Map skilled among the highest web site visitors ever skilled by a Metropolis of Cape City webpage.”

The examine went on so as to add, “It was broadly reported on within the native media and acquired a lot consideration on social media. The Water Map thus achieved substantial water conservation consciousness and is believed to have contributed to the dramatic reductions in home water use, which prevented the Metropolis from working out of water, the so-called ‘Day Zero’.”

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; Pictures courtesy Shutterstock/WESTOCK Productions/MudaCom)