The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is implementing a 24×7 water supply project, which was approved in 2009 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The project was awarded to a joint venture (JV) between Veolia Water India Private Limited and Vishvaraj Environment Private Limited in 2011 on a public-private partnership basis. Post this, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Orange City Water Limited (OCWL), was formed to execute the project. Since 2014, it is being implemented under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation scheme.
Prior to executing the 24×7 water supply project in Nagpur, the corporation faced issues such as intermittent water supply, high levels of non-revenue water (NRW), water contamination, leakages in the water supply system and unauthorised water connections.
One of the primary objectives of the project is to provide safe drinking water to the city population including slum dwellers. It also aims to reduce NRW to 25 per cent by 2022 from 60 per cent in 2011. The project also aims to reduce water loss, extend the life of pipelines (owing to steady and adequate pressure), reduce the level of contamination, improve consumer satisfaction, and optimise water and electricity usage.
Technology initiatives
OCWL has adopted a number of technological and digital initiatives to improve its operations and service delivery standards. It has deployed an integrated information management system that provides a 360-degree view of the overall project and its correlated aspects. The water management system can identify water leaks and running taps, and provide information as to when the taps are in use, flow rates and changes in water usage with the season. The primary objective of the system is to provide a holistic view of the entire project including all the related aspects starting from the water treatment plant (WTP) to the last mile of usage.
OCWL has also installed a geographic information system to map the distribution networks. The deployment of geomapping in the existing structure allows the agency to capture information regarding existing assets and the geographical location of each consumer. Moreover, this helps the company offer a reliable water supply by meeting all demands placed upon the system. This is achieved by incorporating effective management, analysis, visualisation and representation of spatial data collected.
In addition, the company has adopted a customer-centric approach by implementing a consumer complaint management system. To this end, an automated customer service system using SAP technology has been set up. This system helps address customer queries regarding bills, and arrange for an engineer in case of bursting of water mains. The SAP software integrates the task of taking a call from the customer and responding to the request taken from the customer relationship management application of the concerned call centre. Moreover, a 24×7 call centre has been set up for customer grievances, photo billing and online billing. In addition, a customer service centre has been set up that remains open seven days a week.
Apart from this, the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system has been deployed, which provides water data automatically. The most advanced three-dimensional SCADA technology called “Iconics Genesis64” has been implemented for the centralised monitory system for new and old elevated surface reservoirs, ground service reservoirs and WTPs.
Conclusion
In a recent development, NMC has agreed to extend OCWL’s timeline to complete the 24×7 water supply project. One of the key reasons for postponing project timelines is the delay in the release of funds from the central and state governments under the JNNURM.
In sum, OCWL has been tasked with the responsibility of upgrading the city’s water distribution network, rehabilitating existing networks and laying new ones to ensure that citizens get clean, on-tap water in a regular and monitored manner. Reportedly, taps and pipelines have been laid in about 70 per cent of the city including slum areas. OCWL is integrating digital and smart solutions to improve its operational efficiency and reach out to the residents.
With inputs from a presentation by Sanjay Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Orange City Water Private Limited (a JV between Veolia Water India and Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited), during the India Smart Grid Week 2018