Environmentalists suggested that the new Development Plan of 2014-34 should include better management of the city’s water resources and our sewage model should be modified on the lines of the Singapore water management model.
“Already a lot of money has been spent to treat sewage water, and still 80% of the water has not been treated. This outflow of sewage affects the health of our coasts. We should take a cue from the Singapore model of water management, where they treat water as a valuable resource. Their treated grey water is so pure, it is sold as drinking water in bottles,” said Debi Goenka of the Conservation Action Trust.
Singapore was water dependent on Malaysia till the early 2000s, after which they decided to recycle and reuse their resources, finally becoming independent and recycling almost 100% of their water.
They insist on mandatory recycling of water and provisions for re-use of grey water for non-potable purposes.
Grey water is the waste water generated from showers and hand basins which can be recycled on site to be used for non-potable purposes, such as flush tanks.
They indicated how Mumbai’s geographic location makes it self-sufficient in water resources, but, unfortunately, all the streams and rivers that flow into the sea through the city are converted into gutters because of our sewage outflows that merge with these water bodies.
