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Indian Utility Taps Modeling Software to Solve Water Crisis
November 4, 2009 By: Cyrena Respini-IrwinDrinking water flows again to 17 million thanks to quick action and a suite of applications from Bentley Systems.
Last month, infrastructure solutions provider Bentley Systems welcomed a group of its software users to the Be Inspired: Infrastructure Best Practices Symposium and Awards in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event included keynote addresses and updates about acquisitions and product innovations, but the real draw was the attendees themselves. The finalists of the 2009 Be Inspired Awards gave presentations describing the methods used to execute their projects — and the challenges they encountered along the way.
Creating a digital city map, designing a stadium, or expanding an airport is never a single-dimensional task. Projects on this scale can be complicated by a variety of obstacles: geological, financial, environmental, or even political. Earlier this year, the Water Supply and Sanitation Department of Maharashtra, India — winner of the Innovation in Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Networks award — faced a water supply problem so severe that it spawned civil unrest in 13 municipalities.
Madhuri Mulay, deputy engineer for the department (known as Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran [MJP]), explained that the problem stemmed from a Supreme Court ruling that restricted the distribution of water from the Krishna River, the main water source for 17 million people in the Mumbai metropolitan area. Although the water restriction was intended to last for only one day per week, the downstream network of pipelines and storage tanks took an unexpectedly long time to refill after the dam was reopened. Some cities did not receive water for an additional 30 hours.
Source of Contention
There is a long history of riparian disputes in the Krishna Basin. The two other states the Krishna passes through on its way to the Bay of Bengal — Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh — are located in deficit basins. "Therefore," said Mulay, "water is most precious in these two states. People in these states are very alert [about] their water share."
The Krishna River supplies water to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Image courtesy of the Government of Maharashtra, Water Supply and Sanitation Department.
The construction of three hydroelectric plants brought the friction between Maharashtra and its neighboring states to a head, and the dispute was taken to the Supreme Court. The court limited the amount of water allotted to Maharashtra, restricting the amount of water from the Ulhas River (a tributary of the Krishna) that could be released through the hydroelectric station at Bhivpuri.
After a Supreme Court decision limited the state of Maharashtra to 212 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) in five years, officials decided to stop the flow of water through the Bhivpuri dam on each Friday, and restore it each Saturday. Image courtesy of the Government of Maharashtra, Water Supply and Sanitation Department.
The media quickly reacted to the water cut, highlighting the problem in both print and television coverage. Angry protesters held demonstrations, and in some cases, vandalized property.
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About the Author: Cyrena Respini-Irwin
