Applying Industrial Ecology Tools to Increase Understanding of Demand-side Water Management in Bangalore, India
Water balancing is a useful and increasingly popular tool for assessing stresses and opportunities in urban water systems. A streamlined water balance was constructed for the city of Bangalore, south India, using material flow analysis (MFA) drawn from industrial ecology. An extensive survey of end-users was employed to characterize residential use of water by socioeconomic groups, using housing as a proxy. This was combined with demand and supply-side data for the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors to create a water balance for the city that is affordable and replicable for other cities that have incomplete datasets. The relationship between water supply and energy is highlighted for Bangalore which sits at a considerable height (500 m) above its main surface water source. The municipal water utility services require approximately 5% of the entire municipal electricity demand for pumping, treating, and distributing water. Bangaloreís municipal water service aims to reduce unaccounted-for water, which includes water leakage through the system as well as siphoned off water, from its current level of 26% to 15% by 2025. Such loss reductions would have a large impact both for water and energy demand for a highly populated and expanding urban landscape.
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