BANGALORE: Three news reports in the last three months cite the same reason for the disruption in the distribution of water by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). The reason — a power failure at Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited’s (KPTCL) power grid in Somanahalli.Every time that the failure happens, the residents are forced to deal with shortage of water and dry water taps. With the recent power failure that took place in the the afternoon of July 18, the entire city faced a huge disruption in the supply of water for two days.Owing to a two-hour power shutdown in all the three BWSSB pumping stations, there was irregular water supply across the city, especially in East Bangalore.The Central Grid supplies power to three pumping stations — TK Halli, Harohalli and Somanahalli, which in turn supplies water to the rest of the city. The average consumption of water in the city is approximately 900 mld (million litres a day).“The problem does not always occur at the grid. In the past, the power supply to the water pumping stations has been affected because of other technical problems between the grid and the pumping stations,” said Prahlad Rao, PRO, BWSSB. In April, following two power failures at the Central Grid, Minister S Suresh Kumar, met with officials from the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation to explore possible solutions for the same. Even after the meeting and the brainstorming that took place, the situation is still as it was two months ago.A source from KPTCL said that the problem was set right in April and that there has been no problem since then. The source also clarified that the power failure on July 18 was unexpected. The officials did not receive any fore warning about the failure that occurred.No alternativeThe official from KPTCL said that they were working in close co-ordination with the BWSSB. When asked about an alternative to the power grid, the official said that there cannot be an alternative. “According to the report we received, there was a 30-minute power failure. At the moment we are working towards minimising the problems. We cannot guarantee uninterrupted power supply,” he said.The BWSSB also admitted that there cannot be other alternative. “We spend close to `25,000 to `30,000 crore just on electricity because we need that much power for our pumping stations,” revealed a BWSSB official. He further explained that the quantum of power required is so high that even if there is a power shut down for a very short period, the water in the giant pipes recedes and it is difficult to build the momentum once the power is back.
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