Numerous test of ground water quality at different locations have established this emphatically – in many cases, the contamination of Nitrates, Fluorides, Sulphates and Phosphates (from the sewage) are well beyond acceptable levels. It is a matter of loss of human dignity in the city of Jodhpur… with sewage contaminating the ground water and the ground water filling basements of houses in the city of Jodhpur.
The Water Balance of Jodhpur
– Jodhpur gets | ~ 210 Mld |
– Treatment Plants get | ~ 50 Mld |
– Rest | ???!!! |
160Mld × 365 days × 21 years |
~ 12,30,000 Million liters |
= 1,230 Million m3 |
= 1,230 × 1,000,000 / 75,000,000 m |
~ 16 m |
Figure 1: back of the envelop water balance of Jodhpur – 16m rise of water in 16 years
2. The Problem
Common man in the city of Jodhpur is holding two contrasting views – the water at near ground level in the city of Jodhpur is because of:
Figure 2:Cross-section of the ground in the greater Jodhpur area – the main city is located on the bowl on the right hand side
3. The Solution Tried so far
Efforts have been unsuccessful, to reduce the water logging problem in the city of Jodhpur. The civic administration has been has been drawing out water from upper layers of ground in the city of Jodhpur.This is not a rational solution, because the of the daily supply of water of about 210 MLD to the city of Jodhpur, about 150 MLD is being discarded into the ground each day – and the rate at which the water is being drained out through pumping is not even 10% of this volume. Currently, the installed capacity of sewage treatment plant is about 80MLD, but the actual quantity being treated is only about 30 MLD. Tens of Crores of Rupees are being lost each year… with no respite to human dignity.
4. The Way Forward…
The City of Jodhpur needs to take two hard steps, namely –
Figure 3: Separating at the household level the Sewage and Sullage collected from the city of Jodhpur, and carrying them in different pipelines to the respective treatment plants
Figure 4:Proposal to construct Large diameter underground tunnel to carry the ground water by gravity flow – the tunnels can be laid under the exiting road system to avoid additional land requirement
Figure 5: Large diameter underground tunnels carry the ground water by gravity flow – the tunnel can be used for laying other services also, like electricity and telephone lines
1. Background
The City of Jodhpur was suffering from major water shortage till early 1990s, when the water from Punjab through the Indira Gandhi Canal, and thereafter by the Rajiv Gandhi Canal reached water to the city. Sociological changes happened thereon – people of the city of Jodhpur used the canal water (which became easily available in taps in each house) in place of drawing water from traditional wells spread throughout the city. Alongside, the city did not develop the mechanisms to take the storm water, waste water and sewage from each household and treat them – even today most of the water is left into the ground. Over the last two decades of getting the canal water, the ground water table has risen – at an alarming rate of about 1m per year in some places, and lesser in some. But, for sure, the ground water is polluted with sewage. Numerous test of ground water quality at different locations have established this emphatically – in many cases, the contamination of Nitrates, Fluorides, Sulphates and Phosphates (from the sewage) are well beyond acceptable levels. It is a matter of loss of human dignity in the city of Jodhpur… with sewage contaminating the ground water and the ground water filling basements of houses in the city of Jodhpur.
2. Actions
TJI will work on four tracks:
Clearly, the work along the above four tracks will be technology driven, and involve significant effort towards online monitoring through sensors (a) canal water monitoring to understand the losses along the canal length, (b) along distribution lines for the supply, use, theft and wastage of water), and (c) GPS sensor based monitoring of water tankers delivering water to the city household (from the point of view of water quality).