Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has invited tenders to monitor water flow to trace illegal connections and regularise them at the cost of `342 crore.
BWSSB Chief Engineer Narayana said, “We have already allotted works to monitor water flow to trace illegal connections in the south division to L&T at the cost of `60 crore. As the water loss is more in central and west divisions, we are planning to issue similar contracts to minimise the losses. Around 36 per cent of water that is pumped by the BWSSB goes unaccounted for. Therefore, these projects are aimed at minimising the loss by plugging leaks.”
What the firm will do?
The service provider will have to install water meters at every junction in central and west divisions and identify the area to which water flows from each area.
The identified area is called district metering area (DMA). As the pumped water flows through a meter installed at a vital junction in each DMA, the amount of water consumed by those with legal water connections can easily be traced, by adding up the water consumed by every customer in the area. If surplus water is being drawn in any of the DMA, the service provider will inspect the water lines to see if there are any illegal connections or underground leakages.
The service provider will have to inform the BWSSB Vigilance Cell if any illegal connections are traced in the area, which will help the BWSSB impose a penalty on violaters or prosecute them for water theft.
The BWSSB incurs a loss of Rs 10 crore from 350 MLD unaccounted water.