BENGALURU: Due to the surge in electricity bills caused by decade-old pipelines which supply water pumped from the Cauvery to the city, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has taken a major decision to replace the entire infrastructure at its three major pumping points enroute: Thoraikadanahalli, Harohalli and Tataguni.
These pipelines were put in place under the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage I (1973) Stage II (1983) and Stage III (1993). “This project is set to cost the Board Rs 200 crore. We plan to replace the mammoth pumps, motors, brakes and cables at all the nine pumping stations along the route,” A Ravindra, Chief Engineer, Cauvery, BWSSB told Express. “The proposal has already been scrutinised by the Technical Committee of the Water supply department. It will be sent for approval in the next Board meeting set to take place shortly.
If cleared, we can start implementing it,” he said. The driving force behind this decision is the huge power bill caused by the creaking infrastructure. Out of the total monthly electricity bill of Rs 33 crore for pumping water, these three Stages alone account for Rs 20 crore. “Between 5 % and 6% of the Rs20 crore is because of these old pipelines and other old equipment. Hence, there is a clear need to replace them. There are frequent breakdowns and collapse of different components.
The spare parts too are not available. This makes them quite unreliable,” he said. On the time frame involved, he said it could take a full year for replacement of all the existing infrastructure. The modernisation will also ensure that the whole system can be remotely operated and the performance of different pumping stations can be monitored on a real-time basis. Ravindra said that an elaborate plan has been drawn up to ensure that water pumping to the City would not be affected while the replacement is on.