New Delhi: In 2020, the Odisha government carried out a pilot project for 24×7 supply of water in some parts of Puri and Bhubaneswar to address the water shortage problem.
In July 2021, Puri, with a population of three lakh, became the first city in the country to provide 24-hour supply of water that was fit for drinking from the tap. The project was launched under the state government’s ‘Sujal — Drink From Tap Mission’.
“In the past three years, the initiative has led to reduction in water loss (non-revenue or waste water), addressed water contamination issues and is gradually bringing a change in consumption pattern with many people not storing water,” P.K. Swain, chief executive officer of Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO), told ThePrint.
What started as a pilot project has today become a case study for other cities, which are working to implement a similar advanced water management plan to provide round-the-clock supply of potable water, and become water secure.
Among these cities are Ayodhya, Shimla (which faced a major water crisis in 2018), Nagpur, Coimbatore and Pune.
In October 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs came out with guidelines for cities to implement the 24×7 water supply or ‘Drink from tap’ facility, which is part of the Centre’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). These guidelines cited Puri as an example.
The mission — the second phase of which was launched in October 2021 for a period of five years in 500 cities — pushes cities to implement the ‘Drink from tap’ facility in at least one municipal ward or district metered area (DMA).
According to central government sources, the ministry has sanctioned 691 projects worth Rs 32,300 crore for providing ‘Drink from tap’ facility in several cities, including Ayodhya, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Aurangabad, among others.
ThePrint reached urban affairs ministry officials for comment via WhatsApp. This report will be updated if and when they respond.
While Puri is the first city to implement such an initiative, Malkapur in Maharashtra has had 24×7 potable water supply since 2009.
The 24×7 water supply project was implemented by the Maharashtra government when Malkapur was a village, according to Malkapur Municipal Council officials. Under the AMRUT scheme, the municipal council has undertaken infrastructure augmentation to cater to the increase in demand for water due to population surge.
“With 11,000-plus water connections, we have over the years seen a nearly 30 percent drop in total demand when compared to what it was before the scheme was implemented,” said Pratap Koli, chief officer of Malkapur municipal council.
“The demand is increasing as more and more people are moving here due to good facilities, especially continuous water supply,” he added.
For the past one year, the Coimbatore municipal corporation too has been providing 24×7 potable water supply in some parts of the city.
In Delhi, the Sheila Dikshit government had toyed with the idea of 24×7 potable water supply in 2012 and awarded work for a pilot project to provide water under public private partnership in Malviya Nagar, Nangloi and Vasant Vihar. The project met with stiff resistance from citizens and activists, and it was alleged that the government was privatising water supply.
Though the project was implemented a few years later, just parts of the areas are getting round-the-clock supply of potable water.
Ahead of the assembly elections in 2020, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also promised to provide 24×7 water supply. However, the Delhi Jal Board is yet to implement the project.
Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Somnath Bharti told ThePrint: “After the AAP came to power in Delhi, the 24×7 water supply project was implemented in two colonies of Malviya Nagar (work for which was awarded earlier) in 2017 and 2018. These colonies are still getting 24×7 supply. The quality of water supplied is good and people can drink from the tap.”
He added that the APP-led Delhi government plans to provide 24×7 potable water in the entire city. “The issue is availability of water in Delhi. In the past nine years, we have tried to augment water availability through different ways. In 2014, Delhi had 900 million gallons pr day (mgd) supply, which has increased to 1,005 mgd due to our efforts. But to provide continuous supply to the entire city, we need more water,” he said.
While water experts have lauded the 24-hour supply initiative to make cities water secure at a time when several Indian cities are facing water crises, they advise that government agencies should factor in the impact of climate change in their planning.
“24×7 water supply is a crucial aspect of development. It has a major impact on people’s lives, especially women, as it saves time that is spent storing water due to intermittent supply. It also brings down water-borne disease load,” said Sahana Goswami, senior programme manager, water resilience, at WRI India, a research organisation.
“Round-the-clock water supply is a crucial aspect of development. It saves time that is spent in storing water due to intermittent supply. It also brings down water-borne disease load,” Goswami added.
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How cities are implementing project
Since 2021, several cities have taken up the ‘Drink from tap’ project. While some are implementing it in the entire city, others are doing it in just one ward or in a phased manner.
Swain explained that for cities to switch from intermittent water supply to 24-hour supply, a complete infrastructure overhaul along with a smart water management system, which provides real-time data, sensors to indicate leaks, automated metering system etc., is needed.
The most common water management system used is the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA).
In Puri, 33,500 metered connections, catering to a population of three lakh, have been provided, he said.
To meet the daily requirement of 38 million litres per day of water, it was decided to change the source from groundwater to surface water, according to Swain.
“For 24×7 water supply, we have to ensure a sustainable source of water. We are sourcing water from Bhargavi river now. The water from the river is stored in a reservoir from where it is sent to the water treatment plant and then to elevated reservoirs. Ever since 24×7 water supply has started, we have seen a dramatic reduction in water loss as the state-of-the-art system (SCADA) is quick to point at leakages if there is a slight drop in pressure. The chances of contamination are negligible, as the pipelines are charged all the time,” he said.
According to a report by WATCO, published in 2022, water loss has reduced from 47 percent to 15 percent in Puri.
After Puri, the Odisha government has identified 24 other cities for the ‘Drink from tap’ project, of which work has been completed in eight and is in advanced stages in the remaining cities, said Swain.
The Uttar Pradesh government has taken up the first such project in Ayodhya, which is already witnessing a rise in demand for water with influx of tourists after the inauguration of the Ram Mandir earlier this year.
The state government is implementing the over Rs 200 crore project in a phased manner.
“In the first phase, the area around the temple complex with 9,000 houses has been taken up; then 11,000 other households will be taken up in the second phase. Water pipelines have been replaced and we are putting in place the SCADA system. Sensors will be placed to alert about any leakages, which can be fixed immediately,” said a senior UP government official, in-charge of the “drink from tap” initiative, not wishing to be named.
“To ensure uninterrupted water supply, the government has decided to source water from the Saryu river. Right now, we are dependent on groundwater,” the official added.
Apart from Ayodhya, UP has recently invited bids for providing 24×7 potable water supply in one municipal ward each in 54 Tier 2 and 3 cities of the state.
Checking leakage, saving water
Experts say that cities which have implemented the 24-hour water supply project are able to check leaks with state-of-the-art monitoring systems, such as SCADA.
Manmohan Kapshe, professor of architecture and planning at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, who works on water resource management, told ThePrint: “Under the present setup in cities, there is a lot of wastage of water in transporting and distributing it. People also store large quantities of water due to intermittent supply and uncertainty. But with 24-hour water supply, a sharp drop in daily demand can be observed. The wastage also reduces due to the SCADA, which has an alarm system to notify leakages.”
In Coimbatore, too, water consumption has dropped ever since the project was implemented.
The city municipal corporation started the 24×7 potable supply project in 2018 to cover 97 DMAs (1.5 lakh households), of which nine DMAs (covering 8,000 households) are getting 24-hour water now.
Gopalakrishnan, project management consultant with the municipal corporation, said: “In the nine DMAs, we have seen a drop of 5-20 percent in water consumption. According to government norms, 135 litres per day per person has to be provided in urban areas. But after 24×7 water supply, we have seen that per capita daily consumption has dropped to 95 litres per day.”
Under the project, the municipal corporation is working on 1,750 km of water pipelines.
A senior official at the corporation said: “A lot of infrastructure work has been undertaken to ensure 24×7 water supply. We are also constructing 33 overhead water tanks in addition to the existing 36. Around 1,700 km of water pipeline network has been re-laid for the project.”
‘Climate change impact should be factored in’
Most cities that are implementing 24-hour water supply projects are sourcing water from rivers or dams. Experts stress on the impact of climate change and the need to incorporate it while planning water projects.
“To ensure 24×7 supply is sustainable, cities need to look at multiple sources of water. We are already seeing the impact of climate change. The watersheds are rapidly degrading and not recharging at the same rate as earlier years. There is a need for cities to focus on improving local water resources through rainwater harvesting, ground water recharging and take measures to increase the storage capacity of aquifers,” said Goswami.
According to water rights activist Ranjan Panda, convener of Water Initiatives, cities are doing little to conserve water although state governments are making efforts to ensure adequate supply.
He said that while 24×7 water supply is the way forward, the focus shouldn’t just be on cities and even rural areas should get water round the clock.
“Cities are a pampered lot. They do the least to conserve water but get water from all possible sources, including forested watersheds which are reserves for rural and indigenous communities. It is important for cities to have an integrated water conservation plan so that they have multiple sources of water within the city and also ensure use of recycled water. At present, cities are doing little to conserve water,” said Panda.
“In most cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, even Puri, little has been done to recharge groundwater, ensure rainwater harvesting, etc. For instance, there are limited sources of fresh water in Puri, as groundwater in most parts is saline. But little is being done to recharge the aquifers or recharge the groundwater,” he warned.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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