Water management in Tumakuru City - Part 1

Water – Jeevajala

Let me ask you this rather simple question who needs water?

What can I expect as an answer? There is no living thing which doesn’t need water. Is this your answer? You are right.

Well, Water is the source of life for all the  creatures on earth. It is because of water that this planet is not lifeless.

If we had to frame a circle of beneficiaries branching out from the water, we will end up looking at its usage. Of course survival occupies the first place concerning potable water and water for domestic purposes. This is called water for life.

 The next immediate usage is water being used as a major input for livelihoods,  which is the practice of agriculture. Agriculture is the consumptive use of water. Plants take in water through mainly the roots  and evapo-transpire it sending it to the atmosphere as vapor.

After it is used as water for life – for washing clothes, washing dishes, having a shower, using it in the toilet, water  comes out as a waste.  We all known this as wastewater which every city must manage if it were not to pollute our rivers, lakes and streams.

Waste water has associated  costs involved in terms of its collection, conveyance and  treatment. Many towns and cities cannot afford it hence it ends up going out of these urban areas untreated.  Post treatment usage is also an issue to be designed and managed . Can farmers be part of the solution of using untreated and treated wastewater ?

Water also has been the heart of a community called Bhovi. Bhovi is the well digging community who also constructed lakes for over a 1000 years. Bhovis relied on the search or storage of water for their livelihoods. A few decades ago it was just a matter of pumping water from the open well which was all the time full. Now we have stepped into the era of borewells going more than thousand feet to fetch the water. The question arises is the uncertain results on part of farmers investing huge part  of their incomes in the desperate search for water , as well as on the alarming groundwater levels depletion leading  towards unsustainable resource use. 

The only way out is to first understand what is happening around us and then act now. For example,  taking a step towards increasing the ground water table would be a dream impacting all life . Water is however holistic and thus one approach alone cannot work in isolation. Thus, this is an effort to look at the whole image of water with various dimensions. The study on water has its roots in Science and Social sciences like Sociology, Economics, Psychology and Governance. The study aims to achieve sustainability without compromising the livelihoods of dependents. 

Current study is focused on Water Management in Tumakuru City

Let us have a picture of water in Tumakuru city and hinterland:

Tumakuru is yet another city in India struggling to meet the water demand of its population of 300,000. Tumakuru is not self-sufficient in its water supply. It is dependent on Hemavathi river water from Gorur dam situated at Hassan which is about 175 kms. Tumakuru doesn’t incur pumping charges as Bengaluru city does to get water from Hemavathi since water flows through gravity.  The water from Hemavathi is stored at Bugudanahalli Lake which has the capacity of 240Mcft.  Every individual requires 135 liters per day as per design standards of the government. But City Corporation is currently providing 107 liters per day. Tumkur City Corporation charges 2.63 paisa per liter of water.There are 371 lakes in Tumakuru district but the Minor Irrigation department has not been able to provide water for cultivation for four years since the lake water levels was not forty percent full, a minimum required for providing irrigation.There are two water treatment plants and one Sewage Treatment Plant functioning with 25MLD capacity situated at Bheemasandra.  Let us know what's happening to the wastewater in Tumakuru City in Part 2 of Water Management in Tumakuru City.

- Rakshitha M L