Most institutions in city not using treated water on lawns

Hindustan Times: Chandigarh: Sunday, 24 August 2014.   

Even though the municipal corporation provides supply of tertiary treated water for use on lawns, parks and other green areas to conserve drinking water, only a few residents and institutions in the city have bothered to get these connections. Meanwhile, virtually all large institutions continue to waste potable water by using it for watering their lawns instead of the recycled water that is meant for green areas.

According to details procured by a city resident, Gaurav Bansal, from the civic body under the Right to Information Act, only six organisations are using tertiary treated water to water lawns. These are the Chandigarh Club, St John’s School, Sector 26, Sacred Heart School, Sector 26,  Durga Dass Foundation, Sector 24 and Lake Club. Green belts such as the Rose Garden and Leisure Valley also depend on the tertiary treated water.

“I had sought details on the amount of tertiary treated water being generated and the amount being actually used. The question was sent in June, but till now the MC hasn’t replied to the first query. However, it has informed that 6 million gallons a day (mgd) of tertiary treated water is being used in Chandigarh,” said Bansal.

Bansal had sought information on whether various organisations were using tertiary treated water for use in lawns.  These included the Haryana Governor’s House, Punjab Governor’s House, Bal Bhawan, all government houses measuring over 500 square yards in Sectors 7, 16, 24, 39, the Cricket Stadium, Sector 16 and star hotels like Shivalik View, Taj and Park Place in Sector 17, Mountview in Sector 10 and Marriott in Sector 35. All these institutions are not using tertiary treated water, according to the RTI information.

Despite running up an expenditure of over Rs. 15 crore on a project to supply tertiary treated water to houses measuring one kanal and above in various city sectors, the municipal corporation has found few takers among the residents for getting new connections. Though there are more than 5,000 such houses, residents of only 260 have applied for these connections during the past three years.

Launched in 1990, the project, which was upgraded in 2011, was designed to supply treated water for use in gardens and parks to conserve drinking water. At present the city faces a potable water shortage of 29 million gallons a day.

According to a senior MC official, of the 10 million gallons a day of sewerage water treated up to the tertiary level only 5 mgd is supplied for watering green areas.