Water management and

Sanitation in Kolkata

Rites Bera
113AR0001
Sustainable
Development
Goals
Water: Overview
At a Glance
 Sl.
Items Statistics
No.
GENERAL INFORMATION
i) Geographical Area (Sq. km.) 187.33 sq.km
ii) Administrative Division (as on 2001)

1. No. Wards 141

iii) Population (as on 2001 Census) (with density of population)
45, 80,544 (24451.74 per sq.km.)

iv) Normal Annual Rainfall (mm) 1647

GEOMORPHOLOGY
Lower deltaic plains of the Ganga- Bhagirathi river
Major Physiographic Units
system
Hugli river along its western boundary. Several canals
2. like Bagjola Khal in the north and Beleiaghata and
Circular Khal in the central part and Adi-Ganga (a
Major Drainages
paleo channel), and Talli nala in the southern part
cover a large area of the city.

LAND USE (Sq.km.) (as on 2004-05) Urban area

3. (Kolkata Municipal Corporation).
4. MAJOR SOIL TYPES Younger alluvial soils mainly silty clay to clay.
NUMBERS OF GROUND
WATER MONITORING
5. WELLS OF CGWB (As on 21 (Tubewells-12, Piezometers-9)
31.03.07)
No. of Piezometers/ Tube wells
 Pre-monsoon depth to water level during
12.09 to 19.59 mbgl.
2006
Post-monsoon depth to water level during 10.72 to 15.42 mbgl
2006
6 There is fall of 7 to 11m in ground water level in last 45 years from 1958 to 2003. Declining trend of
Long term water level trend in 10 years
water level to the tune of 0.33m/yr at the core of the trough and 0.11 m/yr at the periphery.
(1997-2006) in m/yr
GROUND WATER
EXPLORATION BY CGWB
(As on 31.03.07)
No. of wells drilled 10
7
Depth Range (m) 54.00-245.00 mbgl.
Discharge (lps) 7.22-19.50
Storativity (S) 33 X10-3 – 20 X10-5
Transmissivity (m2/day) 2064.5 -2276
GROUND WATER QUALITY
Presence of Chemical constituents more than
Chloride and Arsenic in few places.
permissible limit
8 Ca-Mg-HCO3
Na- HCO3
Type of water
Ca-Mg-Cl
Na- Cl
9 Due to semi confined to confined nature of aquifers estimation of ground water resource by water
table fluctuation method could not be done. Depending upon the available data a total quantum of
204 million litre per day (45.3
DYNAMIC GROUNDWATER RESOURCES
10 million gallon per day) of ground water is entering into the central depressed zone.
Gross Annual Ground water draft for
305.20 Million litres per day.
domestic & industrial use
 AWARENESS AND
TRAINING ACTIVITY

13. Number of Mass Awareness programme organized, date

&No of participants. 2 Nos on 06/02/2001 and 23/07/2003. No of participants were 150 in each program.

Number of Water Management Training programme organised, 1 No from 28/07/2003 to 30/07/2003. No of participants were 18.
date &No of participants.
EFFORTS OF ARTIFICIAL
RECHARGE AND RAIN
WATER HARVESTING
Artificial recharge scheme has been taken under Central Sector Scheme at All India
Soil & land Use Survey Building having roof area of 676 sq.m. Two nos of gravity head
recharge tube wells of 119.38 mbgl depth have been constructed in a recharge trench
(11.57m X
1.65m X 3m) filled with filter materials. Zone

Projects Completed by CGWB ( No. and amount spent)

14. tapped 102.61-114.77mbgl. A quantity of 890m3 of rainwater has been recharged
annually to ground water. The water level shows a rising trend after the artificial
recharge.
Project cost was Rs 10.65 lakhs.
Artificial recharge scheme has been taken at Raj Bhawan Building having roof area of
1400 sq.m.
Projects under technical guidence of CGWB ( nos) Technical guidance has been
rendered to various organizations for rainwater harvesting.
GROUND WATER Ground Water Regulation Act has been enacted from September 2005 in the State by
15. CONTROL AND Govt of West Bengal. KMC area has not yet been notified.
REGULATION
 Declining trend of ground water level. Ground water level has been lowered
to a large extent over the years.
Saline ground water in shallow aquifers within 120m bgl in western part and
in deeper aquifers below 120m bgl in the eastern part.
MAJOR GROUND WATER PROBLEMS AND ISSUES KMC has reported sporadic occurrence of Arsenic beyond permissible limit
11 (0.05mg/l) in ground water in a few places.
Ground water tapped by open wells in the marshy/ swampy lands is
hydraulically connected to the surface water bodies and is biogenecally
polluted.
 Domestic Water Use 130 litre per capita

Households with Water 79 per cent

Access

Water Loss due to Leakage in 35 per cent

Pipe

Household with Sewerage 52 per cent

Services

Wastewater Treated 20 per cent

Main Water Sources Surface water from the Hugli branch of

the Ganges Groundwater from deep
and hand tube wells

Main Water Problems Water use ineffi ciency

Pollution Flooding
Ecosystem destruction
International dispute
Water Supply in City Today
Type Data

No of House Connections 245019

No of Stand Posts 17000

No of Bulk Meter Connections 245

No of ICI Connections 8865

Coverage of Household Connections 92.70%

Type Data
Average Supply Hours 8 hours
% of households covered by surface 82.70%
water
% of households covered by ground 10%
water
Water demand (2012) 293 Million Gallon per Day
Water demand (2026) 402 Million Gallon per Day
Per Capita Supply 200 litre including 35% UFW
Unaccounted Water 35%
Non Revenue Water 97.46%
Treated surface water supply 271 Million Gallon/Day
Ground Water supply 25 Million Gallon/Day
Solid Waste in Kolkata
Sl. No. of the solid waste sample Bidhannagar Titagarh Chandannagar Average in %
Percentage Composition

1 Garbage(Putrefactive part/organic) 68.93% 37.02% 40.99% 48.98

2 Ash/Earth(Inorganic) 3.5% 40.72% 21.50% 21.91

3 Paper/Cardboard box 4.96% 3.40% 9.16% 5.84
4 Plastic/PVC/HDPE 7.61% 2.70% 6.70% 5.67
5 Rags/Cotton/Textile 0.75% 1.10% 1.76% 1.20
6 Rubber 0.02% - 0.09% 0.06
7 Leather - 0.22% - 0.002
8 Wood - - 0.15% 0.0015
9 Earthenware 3.80% 5.30% 3.12% 4.07
10 Ceramics - 0.11% 0.11% 0.001
11 Glass 2.60% 0.68% 0.87% 1.38
12 Hay/Straw/Thermocol 0.10% 0.02% 0.10% 0.07
13 Leaves 0.27% 2.50% 12.50% 5.09
14 Metals 0.36% 0.09% 0.30% 0.25
15 Others 7.10% 6.15% 2.65% 5.30
• Wastes generated by 169 hazardous units is one of the highest
• Difficulty to implement Extended Producer Responsibility
• Production of 26,000 metric tons of e-waste/year and likely to increase
to 1,44,823 metric tons by 2020
• Absence of organized recycling units
• The impact of climate change on the state’s energy systems
• The energy consumed by Kolkata metropolitan area are from coal,
petroleum and biomass
• The contribution of energy from renewable sources is marginal
Of the total wastewater generated in metropolitan cities, barely 30 per cent is treated before its final disposal.
Untreated water finds its way into water system such as rivers, lakes, ground water and coastal wate.
[Government of India, 2002].

It is estimated that 75 to 80 per cent of the water pollution by volume is caused by domestic sewage [The
Energy and Research Institute, 2003]

Wastewater generated in Kolkata gets discharged into East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW); 12,500 ha. of marshy
wetlands connected to the Hugli branch of the Ganges and treating about 2.8 billion litters of sewage from the
city [WWF Report, 2011]

The vegetables are grown in Kolkata sewage fed land shows variable toxicity [Gupta et al., 1990],which when
mix with water bodies leads to its contamination. On the other hand, recycling of waste water often causes
contamination of ground water by mixing of toxic elements like heavy metals and pathogens [Mitra, et al.,
1998].
 Country Drinking water Sanitation

India 89 28
Brazil 91 77
China 88 65
Mexico 95 81
South Africa 93 59

Source: World Health Organisation, 2009.

 Sl.
Parameters Desirable Limit Permissible Limit Health Effects
No.

1 Total pesticide (ppb) Absent No Relaxation Affect Central Nervous system.

2 Arsenic (mg/l) 0.05 No Relaxation Toxic, Carcinogenic, Aff ect Central Nervous
system.
3 BOD (mg/l) 30 100

4 Mercury (mg/l) 0.001 No Relaxation Highly Toxic, causes minamata’ disease,

neurological impairment.
5 TDS (mg/l) 500 2000 Undesirable taste, gastro intestinal irritation.

6 Temperature 5 °C

7 pH 6.5–8.5 Bitter taste, affects aquatic life.

8 Nitrate (mg/l) 45 No Relaxation Algal growth, blue baby disease.

9 Faecal Coliform < 2500MPN/100 ml – Gastrointestinal illness.
10 Total Coliform < 5000 MPN/100 ml – Gastrointestinal illness.
11 Fluoride (mg/l) 0.6–1.2 1.5 Dental and skeletal fl uorosis.
Source: Indian Standard, 10500–1991.
References
1. Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). (2002). It’s the Big Issue. Available at
http://www.wsscc.org.
2. West Bengal Pollution Control Board. (2011). Annual Report 2010–11. WBPCB, Government of West Bengal,
Kolkata.
3. White, G.F., Bradley, D.J. and White A.U. (1972). Drawer of Water: Domestic Water Use in East Africa. In Mahal et al.
(Eds.), India Health Report 2010. R.K. Books, New Delhi.
4. WHO. (2004). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health. World Health Organisation. Available at:
www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/facts2004/en.
5. WHO. (2009). World Health Statistics. In Mahal et al. (Eds.), India Health Report 2010. R.K. Books, New Delhi.
6. World Bank. (2006). India Inclusive Growth and Service Delivery: Buildings on India’s Success. Development Policy
Review. In Mahal et al. (Eds.), India Health Report 2010. R.K. Books, New Delhi.
7. World Bank. (2011). Vulnerability of Kolkata Metropolitan Area to Increased Precipitation in a Changing Climate.
Environment, Climate Change and Water Resources Department, South Asia Region. Document of the World Bank.
8. WWF. (2011). Big Cities Big Water Big Challenges. Water in an Urbanised World. World Wide Fund for Nature. WWF
Germany, Berlin.