Bangalore apartments feel the heat with revised water tariffs

With the stepping up of water tariffs by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), apartment residents in the city have taken a serious hit. Increased Water bills in the city for the month of June, which was totally unwished for, have been called upon by the BWSSB to be at the helm of water usage in the city.

Water bills for Bangalore for June 2013 are 2-3 times more than the regular ones, creating a wave of shock among the apartment residents in the city. According to market experts, water tariff is considered to be one of the ideal economic tools which comes in handy, while curbing the individual resident water usage.

It has often been encountered that a number of apartments clump water charges with the building maintenance account, which makes the expense practically out of the scenario, however, that should not be the case.

BWSSB comes into play

Increased water tariff, according to many, is completely out of place and comes as a blow for apartment residents in the city. In accordance to the new rules, water tariff rate for a quantum of domestic consumers like multi-storeyed buildings, Central and State Government Housing Complexes, high-rise, individual group housing, villas and apartments would be kept at a flat rate of Rs 19 per 1000 lts from the previous Rs 6 per 1000 lts.

The sanitary charges, according to BWSSB, would be glued at 20% of the overall water supply charges, subject to Rs 100 per flat per month. Apartments which are equipped with Board water supply along with UGD connection but supplement the supply of water by water tankers and borewells, would be charged with additional sanitary charges at Rs 50 per flat per month.

Per person water consumption

According to survey reports, around 900 million litres of water is currently supplied to the city by the BWSSB, despite the demand of 1.3 billion lts from municipal authorities. India’s sixth largest city, Bangalore is supplied with water from a number of sources, 80% of which is drawn from the Cauvery river.

Poor areas of the city are in the line for water supply depending on the infrastructure growth, hence the per capita supply for such regions can take a dip to 40-45 lts per day. The national standard set for the per capita consumption of water for a city like Bangalore is 150 lts per day.

Water requirement for a person per day and charges included

Usage Purpose                       Litres/person
Drinking                                               3
Cooking                                               4
Bathing                                              20
Toilet flushing                                  40
Washing clothes                             25
Washing utensils                            20
Gardening                                         23

Total                                                 135

The above quota finds its relevance in urban areas, however for metros it is 150 litres per capita daily. To throw light in this regard, an instance can be taken of a housing complex of 100 apartments, each having 4 members, will consume – 150 ltsx100 apartments x4 members per family x 30days = 1800000 lts per month. With the increase in water tariffs from Rs 6 to Rs 19 per 1000 lts, the housing complex would require to pay water tax of Rs 34200 per month instead of Rs 10800 (1800000 lts x Rs6)

This step, taken by the BWSSB association, which includes paying 220% more for water and 560% more for sanitation, is an attempt to put a check on wastage of water in apartments. Rainwater harvesting, however, is expected to provide a breath of relief in such a case.