Bhopal’s water supply in healthy zone after record monsoon

BHOPAL: Water supply situation is healthy in the state capital, owing to a record downpour last monsoon. The focus for the civic body is uninterrupted supply and improving benchmarks to water supply in slums and congested areas, according to experts. Work in laying new Kolar pipeline for the state capital has been the core focus for BMC for last five years.
Currently, around 70 million gallons per day (MGD) of water is being supplied in Bhopal which can be scaled up to about 90 MGD during peak summer demand. Levels of Upper Lake and other water bodies remain comfortable. Around 40% of the city gets drinking water from Upper Lake.
Rest are dependent on Kolar and Narmada supply which accounts for 60% of water supply. Around 10% of Bhopal’s water supply needs are still met by tube wells, hand pumps and other alternatives. Bore wells up to 450 metres deep go dry in many areas during peak summers. Going by water pumped by the BMC, each individual in Bhopal gets a quota of 183 litres per day per household.
Focus on informal settlements
Around 90 informal settlements are located on eco-sensitive buffer zones. Households in the areas with a slope greater than eight degrees are prone to landslides.
Informal settlements along the streams and wetlands among other including the Kaliasot River slum cluster and the Harshvardhan Colony slum cluster, are prone to flooding and water-borne diseases.
The assessment of informal settlements based on their accessibility to six basic urban services and amenities, has revealed that around 300 households in three settlements do not have access to any of the six services. Around 194 settlements, have access to three or fewer urban services