Societies begin using water with care

PUNE: Recycling water for swimming pools, digging borewells, building storage tanks, hiring tankers and regular pointers educating residents on how to avoid wastage of water this summer are some of the management measures being adopted by housing societies across the city.
Yuka Ramani, resident of Konarkpuram housing society in Kondhwa, said, "We have overhead tanks and bore well water.So even if the pressure of water supplied by the civic body is less, we don't run short. But notices are put up at strategic common places in the society, urging residents not to use the civic body's water to wash cars and supervise their domestic help in the usage of water for cleaning purposes."
Aziz Ghelani, resident of the 150-strong Meera Nagar housing society in Koregaon Park, said, "We depend on the civic body for drinking water only. For all other usage, there is a bore well."
On the other hand, Sanjeev Mohan, managing committee member of a bungalow society with 120 units on NIBM road, said that warning residents about an impending water shortage is counter-productive. "People panic and hoard water. When they find the taps are running, they throw that water away. So it is not a good idea to scare people. Another water management technique is to lower the pressure of the water instead of reducing it to zero. We are only about 70 per cent dependent on the civic body for water. For the rest, we have three levels of storage tanks - which are always full, apart from using water tankers. Since a tanker is an expensive option (Rs 350 to Rs 500 per tanker), we are particular about not wasting water. For instance, we fill the swimming pool using tanker water - and that water is subsequently recycled via a cleaning plant," he said.
Running water for cleaning terraces, porches and cars are a strict no. 'We always urge residents to use buckets for the same. That way we know just how much water we are using," he said.
Rashmi Joshi, resident of the 100-unit strong Five Gardens society in Wakad-Rahatne, said, "The managing committee distributes a schedule of when the water supply is going to be less. So we save water during that time. Since summer is generally a time when water tends to run short, residents are urged to go easy on the cleaning schedules. They are told not to use pipes for cleaning cars. Also, the sprinkler system in the garden not only distributes water equitably, but also minimises wastage."
Raju Jadhav, manager of a tanker service, said, "There is no telling which society will run short of water. Even those with a regular supply of water from the civic body tend to run short because of several factors such as ongoing construction activity, lower pressure in the summer and so on. Tanker rates could be anywhere between Rs 400 to Rs 600 per 10,000 litres. But Kondhwa area - which has societies without regular corporation supply, and the Airport road normally require a steady supply of tankers."
Rajan Pawar, owner of another tanker service, said that Sinhagad Road and Market Yard generally take up the bulk of their tanker supply.
Suresh Ahir, another tanker service supplier, said Kharadi needed tankers due to the flurry of constructions. "Airport Road, Ghorpadi and Hadapsar also require several tankers."