KMWEEP-EA Final Report June 3 2008.pdf - kuidfc

KARNATAKA MUNICIPAL WATER PUMPING IMPROVEMENTS IN SIX TOWNSENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT AND PREPARING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLANFINAL REPORTGulbarga district is predominantly agricultural in nature, the primary drivers of Gulbarga city’seconomy are the trade and commerce, transport and service sector (mainly small industrial units,government jobs). Approximately 68 percent of the city’s population is involved in service sector.Cultural and Historical MonumentsThe city of Gulbarga has a rich cultural past and has grown around the Fort. The Bahamani Fortand the Hafth Gumbaz are recorded as historical monuments by the Archaeological Survey ofIndia and categorised under central protection. Inside the fort there is the great mosque,Baragaza top (cannon) and Ranga Mandal. The Sharavana Basaweshvara Temple and thenumerous Domes or Gumbaz are found in and around the old city area.C-5 Potential Environmental Impacts and Mitigation MeasuresThe audit for environmental impacts is broken down into four categories, coinciding with theimplementation phases of the project:Location ImpactsThe location of recommendations for energy efficiency is at existing pumping stations. Thepumping stations for Bhima Scheme at River intake point and Intermediate Station at Kotnoor arelocated within agricultural and barren land. There are no settlements in close proximity of thePumping stations. The ambient environmental conditions were observed to be free from any kindof pollution. Since the existing environment is a built environment, no land acquisition is expectedand recommendations would be carried on the same locations, no location impacts areconsidered likely.Impacts due to energy efficiency recommendationsAs the recommendations are more of upgrading existing systems with technologically superiormechanical and electrical components, no impact is anticipated. Moreover most of therecommendations like surrendering of excess contract demand, increasing pf values are policyand efficiency level decisions and are unlikely to have any environmental impact.Implementation/ Construction ImpactsMost of the physical recommendations proposed at Bhima Scheme pumping stations arecurrently being implemented under KWASSIP and hence no impacts are likely. A pumping stationhas been constructed at Jack Well location and an EMP has been implemented for the sameunder KWASSIP project. The recommendation for energy efficiency do not envisage any furtherconstruction works and unlikely to have any impact.Operation and Maintenance ImpactsDuring operation phase there are likely to be non-significant and reversible impacts in the projectarea which are likely to affect the workers. These include high noise and vibrations level, wastedisposal of maintenance related materials and safety for workers from likely accidents.1. Impact due to noise and vibrations level: The pumping stations are expected to be operated allthrough the day. Since there are no sensitive locations or settlements at the locations of the allpumping stations, very minimal impact is envisaged. However the noise and vibrations might leadto nuisances to workers. The pumping equipments have high noise levels in the range of 80 - 95dB (A) depending on the type of machinery used, which can affect the personnel operating themachines. The workers in general are likely to be exposed to an equivalent noise level of 80 to 90dB (A) in an 8-hour shift, for which all precautions should be taken into consideration.41 World Bank