Indian Politics & Policy Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2018 | Page 115

Indian Politics & Policy
STP and were using the treated water
for horticulture. They decided to upgrade
the facility by creating two STPs
with capacities to treat 750 and 650
kld underground at the back side of
the complex. This provided more than
enough water for their AC cooling towers,
for flushing toilets, and for watering
the gardens. The Management was
able to install dual or double plumbing
in the entire hotel to enable them to use
recycled water for flushing toilets and
city piped (pure) water for the kitchen,
faucets, and showers in the rooms. The
problem with older hotels, the Manager
explained, is that they do not have
the separate plumbing. It is hard to
re-plumb and lay pipelines where they
would have to shut down part of the
hotel and lose revenue or disturb the
guests. The manager explained:
The challenge is that the old
hotels do not have the separate
piping system for flushing. Most
have one pipe system for all uses
in bathroom. The properties that
have separate line for flushing
can easily do it. A few old hotels
have it but not all. Retro fit
is expensive and its hard to do
in a hotel where we cannot disturb
guests and can’t shut down
because we will loose revenue.
But now all new hotels and malls
are designing for separate lines.
Before water was readily available
in India but now it is not
available. It is not the case now
that we have all the water we
need. The water table is going
down to 250 ft or more. It is too
much. It used to be 20–30 ft. So
that is why everyone is thinking
about how to save the water. So
they are thinking of recycling
but we need to reduce our use
also. So we are going for low
flow aerators for wash basin. 4.5
liter/minute plus dual flushing
system. We have completed one
building for low flow in the wash
basin. It is 10.8 liter per minute
in the other buildings. 22
They see direct savings in water
bills (Chart 4). He continued:
The regulation is one thing. It is
our responsibility to give back
to society. We can afford to have
more fresh water but if we do
that means someone is getting
less. It is affecting our overall
bottom line. In 2015, we were
having problem from [our] STP
and were not getting enough
water. We went for upgradation.
That time using for gardening
and a little bit for cooling tower.
We were using a little for flushing
but mixing it with fresh water
in the tank before going to
the rooms. Then we did modification
and we have reduced intake
consumption by 45%. We
get 110 Rs per kiloliter. That is
our cost. So if I am getting 400
kiloliter from STP everyday I am
saving. Plus you get a good feeling
that you are doing your bit. It
doesn’t go under CSR because it
is a requirement.
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