Groundbreaking Water Management Practices in Gurugram

Water Management Gurugram

Gurugram’s emergence as IT Hub has given way to its rapid urbanisation and exponential rise in population. With that rise, the requirement for water has increased as people need it in every part of their day-to-day functioning. To meet the daily water requirements of Gurugram’s population, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) makes consistent efforts in water management and rainwater harvesting.

According to data from the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), 400 million litres of water is required in Gurugram daily. Innovative water conservation plans are introduced in the city for the complete utilisation of resources like:

Digital Monitoring of Groundwater Levels: Being a landlocked city, groundwater is the primary water source for the Millenium City of Gurugram. Hence, monitoring of groundwater becomes critical. To ensure that 134 automatic piezometers will be installed across the city to monitor groundwater levels continuously at a distance of 5 km from various government buildings. It will be linked to GMDA’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), allowing for the availability of real-time data collection.

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Funds Allocation: The authority proposed 13 new infrastructure projects in the recently convened 13th meeting of the GMDA. Also, a budget of Rs. 2887.32 crore was cleared for FY 2024-25, according to the data provided by MCG. The latest projects are targeted at improving the water treatment capacity and increasing the sewage treatment capacity in the city. Apart from this, this budget will also cover upgrading roads and other basic amenities in the city.

Street Level Rainwater Harvesting: Rainwater harvesting conventionally requires a lot of open space to collect fresh water. However, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram has developed an innovative and eco-friendly model for street-level rainwater harvesting along a road. The system taps the surplus rainwater and recharges the groundwater table. It also addressed the issue of waterlogging on the street as a bonus. As per the data from MCG, the capacity of this street-level rainwater harvesting pit is 72,000 litres. The pipes installed in the system can drain 2,500 litres of water in one hour, making it a highly efficient rainwater harvesting system.

Apart from new initiatives, Gurugram Authorities are also considering improving the existing infrastructure. GMDA is all set to lay a 20.5-kilometre master supply pipeline from the Basai water treatment plant to the city’s tail-end areas, providing a better water supply to every part of the city. MCG regularly carries out round-ups to further examine the scope of improvement in Gurugram’s water management system.

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To tackle the rising water logging concerns in the city, MCG and GMDA even joined hands. Also, meetings are held to resolve the emerging issue quickly. This indicates that the city is learning and growing as it evolves with time, which many other cities in the nation need to learn.