This document discusses water sensitive urban design approaches to build resilience in cities. It notes that Bengaluru's population growth from 4 million in 1990 to over 10 million currently has stressed water resources. It advocates decentralized and nature-based solutions like rainwater harvesting, stormwater management, wastewater treatment and reuse. Specific strategies discussed include installing rainwater storage barrels, digging recharge wells, creating urban lakes, and using treated wastewater for irrigation. The document argues for adopting waste-minimizing and resource-generating approaches in building and infrastructure design.

1. Water sensitive urban design
Building resilience for our cities
S.Vishwanath
Biome Environmental trust
Zenrainman@gmail.com

2. …it is contextual

3. 1.Opening of Indian economy 1991.—
GROWTH became the mantra…..
2. In Bengaluru establishment of
Electronic industries 1991—
becoming IT industries as now…
3.Year Population
1990 4,036,000
1995 4,745,000
2000 5,567,000
2010 7,469,000
2015 10,839,725
2016 11,556,907
Source :Ramachandra, T.V.; Bharath H. Aithal and Durgappa D. S. 2012. Insights to urban dynamics through landscape spatial
pattern analysis, Int. J Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 18; 329-343, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2012.03.005

4. Source : CH2M report for BWSSB

9. The invisibility of the resource

11. Photo : Raghu Rai

13. Cut to the present…
• How is inequity to be eliminated or reduced ?
• How do we build resilience ?
• Distribute and de-risk dependencies..
• Decentralize
• Involve more solution providers
• Think multiple solutions…

14. Key challenges
• Social
• Technical
• Institutional
• Financial
• Legal
• Environmental
• The knowledge services to be provided to the city – individuals,
communities and institutions .

16. Rainwater Harvesting

19. Local hydrologic cycle – seeking bio mimicry with rainwater harvesting

20. Hydro-flows
• Surface runoff 15 90
• Recharge 10 5
• Evapo-transpiration 75 5
• The aim of rainwater harvesting is bio-mimicry.

22. The new rainwater harvesting bye-law
• For every plot create recharge or storage
• @ 20 litres per square metre of roof area
• @ 10 litres per square metre of paved area
Minimum depth of recharge well 3 metres

23. How to harvest rainwater ?
• Understand rain (quantum/pattern/intensity)
• Cascade capture
• House/Apartment/Institution/Industry/Park
• Storm water harvesting in ‘tanks’/lakes
• Ground water recharge

24. EVERY ROOF CAN BE A CATCHMENT

25. Rain barrel : easiest way to begin rainwater harvesting

26. Rainwater harvesting in an industry
4 acres > objective 0% runoff
Rain Barrels harvesting rooftop rainwater

32. .

33. Quality check- using the H2S strip test for e.coli identification

34. Simple treatment using SODIS www.sodis.ch

37. Rainwater Harvesting Theme Park

38. Aerial View of Theme Park

39. Porous
Pathways

40. Green
storm-
water
drains

41. The ‘other’ benefits of rainwater harvesting
• Investment of Rs 750 crores approx. created
• Jobs for plumbers and well diggers
• Innovation in terms of nearly 40 rainwater filters developed
• Skill up-gradation of over 1000 plumbers
• Rainwater harvesting theme park created for water literacy

42. Storm-water harvesting

43. Leaky well

44. • Locate recharge well in the channel or off the channel
• Make arrangements to remove silt and leaves before water
enters recharge well
• Monitor the rate of recharge and decide on the number of
recharge wells necessary for the catchment

45. Don’t forget the maintenance

46. Storm-water designs

48. WSUD is about traditional livelihoods

49. Muniappa the well digger who has dug more than 3000 recharge wells

50. Ramakrishna and Shankar

51. …WSUD is also about construction and how
we build and what do we use or disuse

52. Is there a new possibility?
Can cities be not predatory?
Can cities be part of solution?
Solution is to look at the resources
to build them…
Solution is to look at how they will
live..
Solution is to empower people
coming to the city

53. Basements

55. Co-operative Collaborative Design Process
Units Mini Amit Vasanthi Uma Ghosh Sheeba
Plot Area sq.m. 368.0 218.5 220.8 147.2 346.7 220.8
Built Up Area sq.m. 290.9 272.0 389.6 175.5 151.4 225.0
Basement Area sq.m. 80.9 64.7 126.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Soil Available cu.m. 149.3 149.3 263.8 0.0 0.0 0.0
Soil Required for
Earth blocks
cu.m. 55.2 55.6 38.8 43.9 27.1 47.0
Embodied Energy/
Earth Walls
KJ/m3 406.0 412.0 290.0 333.0 270.0 348.0
Embodied Energy/
Burnt Brick
KJ/m3 1027.0 1043.0 734.0 844.0 683.0 881.0
Embodied energy calculations from Auroville Earth Centre website

57. School- The Yellow Train

58. WSUD is about waste and what we do with it

59. Can buildings be
waste sinks?

60. Incorporating waste
Starting a new
project – use of
plastic as damp
proofing in the
bottom of the
foundation…..

61. "Old Men must die, or the world would grow mouldy , would only breed the
past again“
--Tennyson

62. Residence for Mr. Raghavan

63. Existin
g Plan

65. Segregation of Debris

66. Harvesting from the old

67. Processing the Debris

68. Residence for Mr. Raghavan

69. Alternates to conventional foundation

70. Alternates to conventional foundation – using debris

71. Residence for Mr. Raghavan

76. WSUD is a scale issue
• From an individual building
• To apartments
• To gated communities
• To micro watersheds

77. Rainbow Drive Layout, Bangalore

78. Classic Orchards Layout, Bangalore

79. Jakkur Lake, Bangalore

82. UASB Reactor

83. Treatment Plant and Jakkur Lake

88. Nature as treatment

89. Lake ecosystem

95. Jakkur Lake, Bangalore

96. WAY FORWARD….
• Replication has begun in a few
lakes including one with
Corporate Social Responsibility
and will need to reach all the
remaining lakes of the city.
• Will assist in the formulation of a
waste water policy in the
city/state.

97. WSUD is also about the city and its hinterland

98. Dakshina Pinakini river
• Flows capture the sewage from North and East of the city
• 700 to 900 million litres per day of untreated wastewater
• Being used extensively by farmers for cultivation including filling two
reservoirs in Tamil Nadu – Kelavarapalle and Kaveripattinam

117. Total irrigated area in Dakshina Pinakini
• Estimated to be around 5000 Hectares

118. Key Observations
• A vast hinterland of wastewater agriculture provides livelihoods and
employment in the city
• No formal institutional mechanism exists to monitor and manage this
• Farmers have made huge investments in pumping the wastewater
into their fields
• A risk management approach using the Sanitation Safety Plan
developed by WHO can be adopted in the short term

119. Septage and sludge management

121. Vacum sucking a pit latrine

122. But how to compost and treat the sludge well ?

123. Compost after 3 months- sells for Rs 1500/-
to Rs 2000/- a tractor load

124. The fruits

127. SMART ROOF as a generator of resources…………………

130. A SMART roof that grows rice

131. How about?
A SMART roof that grows vegetables

132. SAFE DRINKING WATER

133. GREY WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM..applied..transferred..

134. ENERGY

135. Turns Sewage to a Nutrient through Eco-san

139. ROOF
• 100 sq. mt. 100,000 litres of water
• 100 sq. mt 200 kgs of rice and vegetables
• 100 sq. mt. All the grey water –100 ltrs/day
• 100 sq.mt All the urine 1500 litres / year
• 100 sq. mt All the solid waste generated
• 100 sq mt 32 different species of birds
• 100 SQ mt Heat 100 litres daily
• Light 12 bulbs
• Cook for 4 people lunch and dinner