Every summer in Bengaluru, the same story plays out. Water supply gets irregular. Borewells start running low. And building managers scramble to arrange tanker deliveries often at high cost and short notice.
The frustrating part? A lot of this is avoidable. Most office buildings waste more water than they realize through small leaks, poor habits, and systems that were set up years ago and never reviewed.
You don’t need expensive equipment or complicated systems to fix this. You just need to know where to look. Here’s a simple guide to help your building use water smarter this summer.
Start by Understanding Where Your Water Goes
Before you can save water, you need to know where it’s being used. Most buildings have three main areas of consumption: washrooms and toilets, the air conditioning system, and outdoor areas like gardens or parking.
Ask your facility team to track water usage weekly during summer just writing down daily meter readings is a good start. You’ll quickly spot if something unusual is happening, like a sudden spike that might mean a leak.
Check for Leaks, They’re More Common Than You Think
This one sounds obvious, but it gets overlooked constantly. A toilet that keeps running after flushing, a tap that drips slowly, a pipe that sweats in a hidden corner — these seem minor but together they waste a surprising amount of water every single day.
Walk through every washroom in your building once a month. Listen for running toilets. Feel under sinks for dampness. Look at the floor around fixtures. These quick checks take less than 20 minutes and can save you a lot of water and money over a summer.
BWSSB has also made it mandatory for large commercial buildings to install tap aerators small attachments that reduce water flow without affecting pressure. If your building hasn’t done this yet, it’s both a water-saving step and a compliance requirement.
Your Air Conditioning Uses Water Too. Here’s What to Do
Most people don’t realize this, but the cooling system in a large office building uses water a lot of it. There’s a part of the AC system called a cooling tower that constantly loses water as part of how it works.
You don’t need to understand the mechanics. What you do need to know is this: if your cooling tower isn’t maintained properly, it wastes far more water than necessary. Ask your AC maintenance team to check it before summer starts and make sure it’s running efficiently.
Also, if your building has a water treatment plant that processes used water (called an STP), ask whether that cleaned water is being sent to the AC system or toilets. Many buildings have this setup but never switch it on. It’s essentially free water that most buildings are letting go to waste.
Water Your Plants at the Right Time
If your building has a garden, landscaped areas, or potted plants outdoors, there’s an easy win here. Watering plants in the afternoon when the sun is strongest means a lot of that water evaporates before it even reaches the soil.
Switch your watering schedule to early morning, before 7 AM, or in the evening after 6 PM. The plants get the same water, but much less of it is wasted. Simple change, real impact.
Adding a layer of mulch or bark chips around plants also helps them hold moisture for longer reducing how often you need to water in the first place.
Talk to Your Tenants and Staff
Water conservation isn’t just a facilities job. The people using your building every day the employees, the tenants, the office staff play a big role too.
A simple notice near washroom sinks reminding people to turn off taps fully, or a quick message in the building communication group about summer water conservation, goes further than most facility managers expect. People generally want to help — they just need a prompt.
You can also put a small sign near the washroom asking people to report running taps or leaks to the facility desk. Crowd-sourcing leak detection is surprisingly effective in large buildings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why is water supply a problem for commercial buildings in Bengaluru specifically?
Bengaluru relies heavily on water supplied through pipelines from the Cauvery river, which gets severely strained in summer. In 2024, BWSSB officially reduced water supply to large commercial consumers during the crisis. Many areas also depend on borewells, which run low in dry months. This makes summer water management a real and recurring challenge for any building manager in the city.
Q2. Is it expensive to make a building more water efficient?
Not necessarily. Many of the most effective steps fixing leaks, adjusting irrigation timings, installing tap aerators cost very little or nothing at all. Larger investments like water recycling systems do have a cost, but even without those, simple operational changes make a meaningful difference.
Q3. What is an STP and does my building have one?
STP stands for Sewage Treatment Plant. It’s a system that cleans the used water from your building from toilets, sinks, and drains so it can be reused for flushing or watering plants. Under BBMP rules, most large commercial buildings are required to have one. If yours does, ask your facility team whether the treated water is actually being reused or simply drained away.
Q4. What are tap aerators and are they really mandatory?
Tap aerators are small devices that attach to the tip of a tap and mix air into the water flow. This reduces the amount of water that comes out without making the tap feel weak. BWSSB has made them mandatory for large commercial buildings and apartment complexes in Bengaluru, with fines for non-compliance. They are inexpensive and easy to install.
Q5. How do I know if my building is wasting water?
The simplest way is to start reading your water meter daily. If your consumption varies wildly for no obvious reason, or if it’s consistently high, something is likely being wasted. Other signs include unexplained damp patches, toilets that sound like they’re constantly running, or unusually high tanker bills.
Q6. Can Nanya help us manage water better in our building?
Yes. Nanya’s facility management teams work with commercial buildings across Bengaluru to identify water waste, improve systems, and reduce costs especially during the summer months. Reach us at +91 98804 94957 or visit www.nanya.llc/contact-us.
