Building Water Security in Bengaluru: Conference on Urban Water Planning and Wastewater Reuse
Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), and the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) are jointly organising a multi-stakeholder conference on October 17 in Jayanagar.
Update | Read the post-event summary here: Wastewater Conference: Turning Bengaluru into the ‘Silicon Valley for Water Innovation’
Bengaluru: The Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs is organising a conference with the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), and the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) called ‘Building Water-Resilient Cities Strategies for Wastewater Reuse in Urban India’. It will be held on October 17 at the Infosys Science Foundation in Jayanagar.
As Bengaluru and other Indian cities rapidly grow, it is critical to plan better to reduce the impacts of flooding and ensure that people are able to meet their water needs during the summer. The conference brings together experts in the domain of water management and urban planning to facilitate cross-learning, and effectively diagnose and address problems.
Experts to debate wastewater management in Indian cities
Shri BP Ravi, IFS, Principal Secretary, Forests and Ecology, Government of Karnataka, will be present, as well as EAWAG’s Dr Christian Binz, who will deliver a keynote address.
The day-long event includes four panel discussions involving a number of sector experts – government officials, academics and private sector practitioners. (See full schedule below.)
These conversations will focus on a crucial aspect of urban water management – wastewater. Of the 1,970 million litres per day of wastewater that Bengaluru generates daily, it treats two-thirds in centralised sewage treatment plants and about 12% in decentralised sewage treatment plants. Despite this quantum of treated wastewater, several barriers prevent the formation of a thriving wastewater reuse sector. As a result, most of this water ends up in the city’s lakes, where it mixes with untreated septage and raw sewage, rendering it unusable.
WELL Labs to launch Bengaluru water balance report
Executive Director of WELL Labs, Dr Veena Srinivasan, will release a report put together by the centre’s Urban Water programme researchers. Using hydrological modelling and collating secondary data from multiple different sources, the authors have quantified the flows and stores of water in Bengaluru – the sources, how it is distributed and consumed, how much wastewater is treated and discharged, and how much exits the city and in what condition. A city water balance summarises all the processes in an urban system – a critical step towards effective water planning.
About WELL Labs
Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs is a research and innovation centre at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR). Focusing on land and water sustainability, WELL Labs designs and curates systemic, science-based solutions using a collaborative approach to enable a high quality of human life while simultaneously nurturing the environment. To know more about WELL Labs, check out welllabs.org.
About EAWAG
Eawag is the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Based in Switzerland, but with a global network, Eawag is concerned with concepts and technologies for dealing sustainably with water bodies and with water as a resource. In collaboration with universities, other research institutions, public bodies, industry and non-governmental organisations, Eawag works to harmonise ecological, economic and social interests in respect of water usage.
About BAF
Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) is a Federation of Apartment Owners’ Associations (AOA) and Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWA) in Bengaluru. It was formed in 2014 to represent and protect the interests of residents’ groups across Bengaluru