Turning a problem into a solution, two societies show way as water partners

Gurgaon: Two residential societies — Nirvana Country and Fresco Apartments — have come up with a novel plan to solve each other’s water woes. The residents’ welfare association (RWA) of Nirvana Country has tied up with RWA of Fresco Apartments to use the latter’s surplus treated water for horticulture and maintenance work.
According to norms, the extraction of groundwater for horticulture and maintenance work is prohibited and only treated water can be used for such purposes. Nirvana Country does not have a sewage treatment plant (STP), forcing it to shell out lakhs of rupees to procure treated water.

On the other hand, Fresco Apartments has an STP which produces four times the treated water it uses. The surplus water is dumped and poses an environmental risk, according to residents. It also seeps into the basement of Fresco Apartments and damages the building.

The two societies have now inked an agreement under which Fresco will extend a water canal to a fixed access point in Nirvana.

An extensive pipeline network will be constructed in Nirvana Country, reaching its five plotted colonies — Aspen, Birch Court, Cedar Crest, Deerwood Chase and Espace. The agreement has potential to save up to three lakh litres of water.

On Thursday, labourers started the ground work for constructing the canal outside Fresco Apartments.

“We signed a deal with Nirvana Country. The use of ground water is strictly regulated by the government and only treated water can be used for for horticulture and maintenance work. Nirvana doesn’t have an STP whereas Fresco is the only high-rise in its vicinity and has its own STP,” said Nilesh Tandon, president, RWA, Fresco Apartments.

In Fresco, a total of 5 lakh litres of water is treated in the STP every day. “But we use only 1.5 lakh litres,” said Amit Gupta, secretary, RWA, Fresco Apartments.

The surplus water is dumped in a vacant plot near Fresco. “The daily dumping of treated water has created an artificial lake there,” said Sanjeev Sharma, who heads the seepage sub-committee of Fresco. “The accumulation of treated water poses an environmental risk. Also, it seeps into the basement of the building and damages its foundation,” he added.

Nirvana Country has five blocks spread over 460 acres and several green areas, including 17 parks, trees lining avenues, hedge growth mushrooming along boundaries, plush flowers and green garden sod in the common areas.

“We have 17 parks in the area,” said Rohit Chopra, general secretary, RWA. “We require at least two lakh litres of water every day, and more in the summer season. We have been earmarking that from the potable water we get from Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran. That will end after this new arrangement with Fresco. The move will have enormous impact on the society’s ecology,” Chopra added.