In order to conserve groundwater, Bengaluru’s civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to make it mandatory for treated water to be used at construction sites.

Earlier this year, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had requested the BBMP to bring in a rule to ensure that groundwater and Cauvery water are not used for construction purposes.

The BBMP has now made it mandatory for building owners to use water treated at various sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the city to construct buildings.

“If the treated water from STPs is not used, then BBMP will not issue occupancy certificates (OC) to the building owners,” a senior BBMP official said.

BBMP officials say that there are 16 STPs in Bengaluru that produce 27.1 MLD water every day. The new rule will make it mandatory for property owners to show documents of purchase of treated water to the BBMP before obtaining the OCs.

“The property owners will have to furnish the bills of purchasing the water from STPs. Without this, they will not be given OCs,” he added.

According to data obtained from BWSSB, 60% of residents in Bengaluru are dependent on groundwater and currently, the city has 4,464 legal bore wells in the city. Of these, around 1,500 of them have run dry and the groundwater level has reached 1,100 ft. BWSSB sources say that based on the survey conducted, the city has around 3.6 lakh illegal bore wells.

BWSSB officials say that they receive over 200 requests every day to dig bore wells in the city and that some of the requests are approved as the residents have no other source of drinking water.

“There are so many buildings in Bengaluru without occupancy certificates. Even several commercial buildings do not have OCs and yet they continue to pay fines. The challenge will be in monitoring and ensuring that the STP water is being used,” he added.