45L? Enough?

Very recently a message was found deep in space.

Some of the best scholars, scientists, linguists and
archaeologists were summoned to decipher the
language. It did take a while, but they were able to
put together the message. It was in fact a warning
from an unknown alien civilization. It claimed about a
species on a planet, some light years away from them.
This species has the capability to host voraciously on
the resources available on the planet they inhabit.
This species is strong enough to empower any other
species inhabiting the planet, size or strength does
not matter. This species has learned control over the
five elements and have reversed their effects for their
benefit. This species also reproduces in large numbers
and has rapidly grown since it first appeared on the planet. Frighteningly, this species has the power to
send thousands of other species into extinction, or even all other species may indeed be extinct soon.
Furthermore, this species fights within itself for the resources. What is even more worrying is this species
has set out in space and has started contemplating the idea of moving on to other planets, since they have
almost parasited their present planet, so this is a warning for other civilizations that may find this message,
beware!!

Strangely one of those species has written this article and another one reading it. Yes, I am indeed talking
about humankind, correction, humans who are no longer kind to this planet. Frankly speaking, we humans
are no less compared to some virus, we are attacking our host in large numbers, we are sucking dry every
resource available, and are also now on the lookout for a new host (read space research and my previous
article “Plumbing in Space Age”, IPT, Feb 2009).

Whether we like it or not, we have damaged the eco-system so bad, that we probably cannot repair it, but
can only strive to slow down the damage process.

Since the most abundant resource available

to us is water, it is but natural (excuse the
sarcasm) for us to violently host on this
element. Let’s not go into details as how
much fresh water or salt water is available
to us and how much are we wasting, we all
now know that. The hardest fact to digest
today is that some of the Municipal
Corporations are in such a tight situation
that they are only able to provide with 45
litres of water per capita a day, here I am
talking about modern cities and not some
remote place in the African sub-continent,
where it may probably mean a week’s
supply or even less. And now that we are in
it, let’s face it. Will 45 litres be actually
enough? Will it be enough to enjoy or will it
suffice our daily chores?
Now that’s where the difference is, “Enjoy or Suffice”. For now, let’s take examples of two groups, Group A
which wants to enjoy water and Group B which requires just sufficient water for daily activities. Here we
will intentionally avoid Group C, which barely receives water and forms majority of our population.

Introducing from Group A, Mr. A likes to have expensive, maybe imported, fittings in his bathrooms or
rather bath spas, has shower panels, Jacuzzis, tubs, rain showers, et al, has never bothered about the
amount of water that is discharged. Has an advanced washing machine, and a dish washer. Let’s account
Mr. A’s daily water usage. I don’t need to mention the water supply is pressure-boosted for such fittings.

 Teeth brushing with tap on (2 mins @ 12 lpm) - 24 litres

 Flushing using a conventional cistern (two times) - 18 litres
 Shaving with tap on (5 mins @ 12 lpm) - 60 litres
 A 3-minute shower (multi-jet massage)* - 135 litres
 Daily clothes wash (machine usage per person) - 28 litres
 Dish-washing machine (per person) - 15 litres
 Cooking / Drinking etc. - 6 litres
 House cleaning / washing - 2 litres
 Watering plants in the balcony - 4 litres
292 litres
* The 30-second wait for “warm-enough” water in shower is not considered.
Coming to our modest Group B. Mr. B is our average guy-next-door. Has a toilet with basic fixtures, has a
shower but prefers a bucket bath, like majority Indian population. Has a washing machine, but affords a
“kaamwali baai” for utensils. Let’s analyse his usage.

 Teeth brushing from a glass of water (2-3 glasses) - 1 litres

 Flushing using a dual flush cistern (3 times @ 4.5 ltrs avg) - 13.5 litres
 Shaving from a tumbler (2 tumblers) - 2 litres
 A warm 2-bucket bath - 20 litres
 Daily clothes wash (machine usage per person) - 28 litres
 Dish-washing by “baai” (per person) # - 5 litres
 Cooking / Drinking etc. - 6 litres
 House cleaning / washing - 2 litres
 Watering plants in the balcony - 4 litres
81.5 litres
#
A family of 5 is considered in the above examples

Yet 45 litres is still less as compared to a modest,

considered sufficient amount of water.

So where do we get the remaining water from, in

fact if we could fit in the category of Mr. A wouldn’t
it be great? No? Aww, come on admit it, at least
once in a while we would love to. Wouldn’t we love
to take a shower in Mr. A’s spa?

Again, certain Municipal Corporations have allowed

using bore-well / open-well water for flushing
purposes. But proper caution needs to maintained,
when handling potable water with non-potable.
Refer UPC-I for details. Also reclaimed and grey-
water recycle is becoming more of a viable option.

But my focus is on “Water Conservation & Management”.

Water Conservation & Management is a Community Effort

 The parameters of water conservation depend on three criterion,
managing the resources, controlling usage and implementing
preservation technologies and technics. Though management of
resources does not lie in our hands, we can always control
pollution to the resources. Usage and preservation
technologies totally depend on our usage and
habitual patterns.

Certain habits are hard to change and

hence required external agents to stop
from abusing the water supply. Enter
low-flow / high-efficient fixtures. Of
course, during my Green Plumbers
training I was made to understand certain circles
do not like the word low-flow.

What are high-efficient / low-flow fixtures?

High-efficient / low-flow devices are such devices which offer an individual the pleasures of conventional
water devices like faucets, showers or water closets while functioning at much lower water requirements
and offering similar or better experiences. Usually by means of using flow restrictors, aerators, etc.

In the past, there were norms which enforced low-flow measures. The 70s norms of Brihan Mumbai
Municipal Corporation required:
 To use 3/8” dia. bib tap on Ground, First and Second floors.
 Float valves in flushing cisterns were HP, LP & FW
 HP had a small orifice as the inlet at ground level.
 LP had a medium orifice as the inlet up to 2nd floor level.
 FW meaning full way, thus complete flow 3rd floor onwards.

This system was being followed when 180 liters per capita per day was offered and
population of tenement was area based to the extent of 10 pax per tenement. Today
we criminally afford to use luxurious appliances which guzzle water, while we are
restricted to only 5 pax.

Some modern faucets are equipped with a little device

called an aerator. The mechanism of the aerators is
pretty simple; it consists of fine wire meshes and gaps
which allow circulation / entry of air before the water
comes in contact. This process not only enables lowered
discharge
of water, but
also a sense of satisfaction to the end user. A blow-out
image of a typical aerator is shown alongside.

Another good measure of water conservation is the

ceramic cartridge arrangement in faucets, taps, cocks,
etc. As compared to conventional faucets a ceramic
cartridge does not spend time in screwing or unscrewing
the spindle for flow of water. A quarter turn and the
faucet is running on, a quarter turn and the faucet is off,
thus at the same time allowing a precise control over the

Conventional Faucet
 flow as required by the end user. Ceramic
cartridges also discourage drip leaks which are
common with conventional washer-based
spindles, when closed properly. Shown along
with is a conventional bib tap and further the
ceramic cartridge based faucet with a blow-out
of the spindle.

Certain faucets / mixers offer variable flow rate, with a

water brake. These faucets by default start a lower
discharge, once a higher discharge is desired, the user
has pass through the water brake, which is a slight
resistance, hence making the user aware of his higher
usage. The image for such a faucet along with its
advanced ceramic plate-based spindle is also shown for your reference.

Similar concepts are available for showers which aerate the discharge and hence reducing the flow rate.
Toilets capable of conserving water are also available off the shelf.

Green Plumbers India covers in-depth review and analyses of such devices and HETs (high-efficiency toilets)
which are capable of conserving larger amounts of water. The accredited professional is capable of carrying
out water audits and able to analyse solutions to conserve water along with energy.
Now coming back to our main question, will 45 litres provided by the Municipality be enough?

Of course, it will, but only by use of water conservation technics and slight habitual changes, we can
conserve up to 30% water required by us. Simply meaning Mr. B could be happy with just the Municipal
Supply and may require just 12 litres more to complete his daily requirement of 57 litres. Add to it bore-
well / open-well water supply and reclaimed water for flush and gardening usage, he definitely is a happy
man. Now, we use the ground water, wont we run out. Let me further explain.

In a calculation done by Mr. Deepak Daiya, he has proven that the city of Mumbai gets enough rainfall to
supply around 200 litres of water per person, an extract of the same is below.

If we were to analyse and consider the average Rainfall of Mumbai at 2000mm viz. 2 meter per year and
multiply it with the area of Mumbai. The total rainfall received would be such,

439,392,576 sq. mts. x 2mts = 878785152 cu. Mts. or 878785152000 lits.

(The area of Mumbai) (Rainfall) (The Quantity of Rainfall received)

This quantity of rainfall if divided by population of Mumbai which as per 2007-2008 statistics in Municipal
civic diary is 11,978,450 persons.

The total rainfall received per capita would be

878,785,152,000 ÷ 11,978,450 = 73363.85 lits. per year.

(Quantity of Rainfall) (Population)

Thus giving us a daily water supply of

73,363.85 ÷ 365 days = 200.99 lpcd.

Of course, we are not going to tap in to the complete 200

litres of rainwater. But by implementing basic rainwater
harvesting technics, we can top-up our additional
requirements of water and splurge like Mr. A, once in a
while.

- Chintan Daiya
Partner, D’Plumbing Consultants
Jt. Secretary, IPA, Mumbai Chapter
Green Plumbers Accredited Trainer