Hyderabad: With a possible El Nino year threatening lower rainfall, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) plans to shift construction sites, industries and parks from drinking water to treated sewage water before summer.
The board is preparing a “Dial-a-Green Tanker” service, targeted to start from November 1, with an aim to raise the use of treated water to 100 MLD (million litres per day) in the first phase.
HMWSSB Managing Director Ashok Reddy chaired a meeting on the plan with representatives of CREDAI, NAREDCO and the Telangana Builders Federation at the board’s headquarters on Friday, October 16. Officials said the move follows Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s directions to prevent a drinking water shortage, with storage in the Singur and Manjira reservoirs under pressure.
The builders’ bodies assured the board of full cooperation.
The eight months until the next monsoon would be crucial, Ashok Reddy said. He added that guidelines were being finalised and orders would be issued soon. Treated water supplied to builders would meet quality norms and suppliers violating them would face action, he said.
Online booking
A Green Water Tanker digital platform, expected to be ready in a week to 10 days, will let suppliers, tanker operators and users register, book tankers online and track them. It will match demand with water available at the nearest sewage treatment plants (STP).
So far, 51 private STPs in gated communities and apartment complexes have registered. A preliminary assessment shows about 1.5 MLD of surplus treated water available from them daily, the MD said. Some may be used as temporary filling points to cut transport distances.
Officials were asked to explore direct pipelines from STPs to bulk users such as golf courses, parks and construction projects, on the lines of the existing pipeline to the Botanical Garden. Reddy said high tanker costs over long distances had to be brought down. He suggested a pricing structure based on volume, distance and tanker capacity.
He also sought coordination with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and municipal bodies to use treated water for parks, medians and green belts. A follow-up meeting will be held with the builders’ associations to settle pricing, quality and supply arrangements.
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