myBDAsites.com

- Is it really mandatory for a new water connection in BLR now?
- has everyone accepted it?

- What are the ways to bypass this? How much should be the greasing required??

EDIT:
Missed adding more details:
There is a notice for existing houses to get it done from BWSSB (I guess. I havent seen it in person though).

Let me add my additional comments

Hi blrguy,
Why do you want to bye pass the rainwater harvesting.when every home has rainwater lines running to ground and they just need to be routed to a pit of 8' depth min.
This will cost you nothing more than 5000 to 6000/- and in return you get big time returns in future.
Even if you need to grease the officials ,min will be 3000/- 4000/- when its just a matter of 1000- 2000/- why do you want to bypass.
It is mandatory to get sanction, bwssb connection

I strictly recommend rainwater harvesting pit, you can even connect it to a unused bore wells or wells.If you invest another 20,000 - 30,000/- you can directly use the rain water by filtering it.It shows you a substantial savings and you are doing your part to save water for future.

i would like to start a separate segment in this forum to educate members about rain water harvesting methods ,filters, benefits, plumbing routing etc....also we can discuss about energy efficient and eco friendly buildings.

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@yahoo.co.in

Very good article indeed, Praveen. On one hand we complain about not having water and then we forget the basics and even our responsibilities as responsible citizens to shore up the ground water levels and use it to our advantage.

I think we need a lot more education in terms of sustainable use of natural resources irrespective of how many degrees we may have. But most of all, I think, we need a change of mindset, to start thinking responsibly and to think green. There is only one world, one Bengluru, lets save it !

I totally agree with Praveen and other users who are encouraging RWH. In fact, I forced one of cousins to go for RWH a year ago even though it was not mandatory. He reluctantly installed the RWH and also routing the water to the dried up bore well. Now he is very happy that he did that even though it costed him some 25-30K.

I feel we (educated ignorants) are the biggest hypocrites. On one hand we expect the city municipal corp. to supply water everyday and on other hand we are not willing to save natural resources and use it in an economical way if it is going to cost 1 rupee extra from out pocket.

I think it govt should make stricter laws to enforce this rule to save water/resources for us and for future generation.

We not only should install Rainwater harvesting, but also support the Solar energy harvesting (which to some extent every home in India now does - with the water heater). but we should also tap it for electrical energy. Small investments by individuals will result in a much improved electrical and water supply for the country.

BenguluruBoy put it right - educated ignorants. We on the one hand complain the officials don't do anything, we lack water supply, electricity is unreliable and the traffic is horrendous. but when it comes to contribution from us - we are the culprits. How many of you have not broken traffic rules or gotten away with not paying tickets etc. please as a society we all have to pitch in - in the correct sense and improve the city. Then there is the breaking the building plan codes - everyone is looking to see how they can get away with things (bribing officials) or even the akrama / sakrama. The codes are there for a reason - to save some greenery and have some order in the construction and appearance of the city.

from being a most sought after city - that was so green and serene, Bangalore has become a jungle. I wish people and the government can bring it back to its glory days.

hi blrguy,

i can't resist asking the Q, why do you want to buypass the Rain water harvesting to your new house?

1) The basic RWH system costs as low as Rs.2,500 for a 30X40 dimension plot(One time investment). the much more sophisticated will cost you as high as Rs.10,000/-.
2) Investment will be recovered within 1-2 years and helps you to rejuvenate your borewell/well to have good water level throughout the year(Even in summer season).
3) RWH also reduces the hardness of the groundwater level by diluting with fresh water every year.
4) Added Advantage is you can reduce the BWSSB water bill drastically by using the borewell water for all miscellaneous usage(Remember the BWSSP water tariff increases by 50% for every 8000 ltrs i.e. for the first 8K ltrs of water, it is Rs.6/1000 ltr for 8000 ltr onwards it is Rs.9/1000ltr and after 16000 it is Rs.12/1000 ltr...etc).
5) There won't be dependency of BWSSP water and you need not to wait for their timings on every alternate days. Only for drinking purpose you can collect the BWSSP Water once in a week. if you are using Water purifiers, you need not to worry for this also. You can directly use the borewell wate all 24X7.

So When you have so much advantages and you are spending several lakhs of rupees for constructing the house, why are you worried about penny.

neevenaadaru aa.bhaa.ji.sm(akhila bhaarateeya jipunara sanghada sadasyare)????
just for fun. pls don't mind it.

Hey, Sorry for the late reply here. I was away for a few weeks because of work & hence back again

There are notices given to houses to implement Rain Water Harvesting. Its not practical to put this rule to existing houses as the costs involved in implementing it may not be reliable.
- there is no borewell or an open well in their existing house, which is like 25 yrs old - hence it cannot be said that it is for their own benefit
- the roof slopes to other side (narrow side - whr the sewer line runs - so ruled out for digging) & cant make rain water flow to the other side where there is possibility of installing new storage
- cant be running water drain pipes all around the house just because someone wants it done now : there is something knwn as aesthetics which should be considered
- modifications would mean : re align the roof casting to make water flow this side (30-40k?? for the roof waterproofing layer or tiling re-done?), storage tanks (no use of making a 500l tank.. it should be of 10k or 15kL : another 20-30k i guess?), some filters itseems 3k or so.. 2 needed.. Already the quote is at 50k.. am sure going by my calculation, it would go to 1L...


Basically,
- New houses, yes. Why enforce it to existing houses? I understand its good to have (rather very good), but see the practical limitation? what is its impact on the foundation?
- How many public places & buildings are already RWH compliant? Parks? Open spaces? Public / Govt Buildings? Large commericial buildings?
- Why not make it compulsory for houses with borewells first? For others, it can be made optional, but recommended as a good practice
- Why not implement this concept of water draining into the earth in the water drains? Isnt it more practical? there are 1000s of kms of water drains everywhere

Enough of my cribbing:

Questions to you experts:
1. Any guidelines of what should the RWH system size be (capacity??) for a 30x40 plot? or a 60x40 plot? Is it documented somewhere? Dont want to do something & they come back saying it is not implemented as per their rules.
2. Where can you get the entire system done for 2.5k? Let me know. I hear the filter itself would cost 2.5k/3k.. And for our solution, to run 2 pipes, you need 2 filters. That itself is going to cost 5-6k. A large tank would imply even more money (leaving aside the other costs involved).
3. Suggestions for the system vary from a plastic barrels (those blue ones) to installing large sintax underground tanks to building concrete tanks. So, is there any specificatoin of what should it be? What is the basic / minimum configuration needed to be implemented? Am sure that information would be helpful for everyone.
4. Can we document here some 2-3 standard designs (couple for old houses, a few for new houses, etc) and the approximate costing involved which would be helpful?

aa.bhaa.ji.sm -> i dont mind being a member as long as you become its president

Blrguy,
I understand it is hard to retrofit it. but there could still be ways. I am not a construction engineer, but I am sure after looking at your building, one could come up with alternatives.

How old is your house, not that that would make a difference in the design aspects. but if it is a newer a house, installing one now could save you money for a long time (older house, not sure how long it would stay in commission, then maybe it does not make sense).

good luck.

Hello Blr Boy

Firstly you have asked your doubt for the new connection. For new houses it mandatory to go for RWH and Solar Water heater systems.

In between you have changed the track to the notices to the existing houses.

Even I'm staying in a 20 year hold house, neither me nor my neighhbours have received such notices from BBMP sofar. So i'm not clear about your second querry.

Regarding the RWH implementation, you need not to go for a commercial filtering system...etc. The simplest RWH which doesn't cost more than 2-3k is given in a documentary by the karnataka Govt body itself, you can view it at below link. Implementation cost of Rs.2-3k is for that system which is already having a sump or a well or a borewell. also using the natural filtering system of stone and sand alongwith a sponge layer and a white cloth. Not for the project which needs everything from scratch and needs Commercial filtering system. hope you can understand the difference after viewing the below video documentary which is kannada. you can also see a lot more video clips related to RWH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWmddGUzHvU

One of the disadvantages in implementing in exisint houses is the greedyness of the owners at the time of construction. Even thoug they have taken building approval as per the bye-law, but they've built the house by encroaching every peice of land. Thats why they are worried about notices for existing houses...etc. If sufficient space is matainained as per the bye law there is no problem in implementing the RWH. you can also other video clips where retrofitting done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4lwi-zU ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4lwi-zU ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhqt61N7 ... re=related

If you need more info on implementation of RWH, you can visit or contact http://www.rainwaterclub.org/ which is an NGO run by a Social worker Mr. Vishwanath which is in Vidyaranyapura area. you can get some interesting information also from their website.