Over the years, work has been taken up to replace at least 1,000 km of old water pipelines.
BWSSB digs up Richmond Road developed under TenderSURE project for underground drainage pipes in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru: As much as 4,800 km of the 10,000-km water supply pipelines in Bengaluru were laid nearly 50-80 years ago, and 57 of the 83 Ground Level Reservoirs (GLRs) in the city are also 40-70 years old.
These old infrastructure facilities cause frequent leakages, resulting in repeated repairs and affecting the quality of roads and water supply
Multiple instances have occurred where roads caved in due to leaking water pipelines underneath. Similarly, water contamination issues are reported owing to faulty leaking pipelines.
“Some of the pipelines are as old as 80 years and result in leakage complaints. In some cases, especially if there are old cast iron pipes, there have been contamination complaints as sewage may enter the leaks and mix with the water,” a senior official of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) said.
Over the years, work has been taken up to replace at least 1,000 km of old water pipelines. However, a complete overhaul of all old pipelines would be capital-intensive and can only be taken up in a phased manner, officials said.
Since all these pipelines are in the core areas, a simultaneous overhaul would also significantly affect traffic movement, they added.
“We are now using robotics to identify leakages. That helps us pinpoint where the leakage is. Also, on priority, we are replacing all the cast iron pipes,” said Dr Manjula N, Chairperson, BWSSB.
She added that the BWSSB was also trying to create a model using AI and other technologies that can predict water leakages and pipelines needing priority replacement.
The BWSSB is also conducting a complete inspection of all the GLRs in the city to ascertain their condition and prepare a proposal to rebuild a few of them.
“There is no water leakage at the transmission level. It is at the distribution level that we are losing water. To address the problem, we have to focus on pipelines and GLRs. Many GLRs are old and need to be assessed. I have ordered a complete assessment. If they have to be rebuilt, it must be done. There is no other way,” Manjula added.
Bengaluru’s Unaccounted for Water (UfW) has remained 30-35% for years, meaning the city may be losing about one-third of the water it receives from Cauvery to leakages.
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