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A welcome and important document, it brings up-to-date our understanding of the rapidly changing groundwater situation in Bangalore.
Month | New borewells added each month | Borewells registered with BWSSB | Monthly % growth |
| Jan-09 | 91018 | ||
| Feb-09 | 924 | 91942 | 1.02 |
| Mar-09 | 705 | 92647 | 0.77 |
| Apr-09 | 965 | 93612 | 1.04 |
| May-09 | 1136 | 94748 | 1.21 |
| Jun-09 | 748 | 95496 | 0.79 |
| Jul-09 | 904 | 96400 | 0.95 |
| Aug-09 | 868 | 97268 | 0.90 |
| Sep-09 | 2062 | 99330 | 2.12 |
| Oct-09 | 838 | 100168 | 0.84 |
| Nov-09 | 875 | 101043 | 0.87 |
| Dec-09 | 2699 | 103742 | 2.67 |
| Jan-10 | 1759 | 105501 | 1.70 |
Total as on Jan-2010 | 14483 | 105501 | 15.91 |
Growth of bore wells during February 2009 to January 2010 in Bangalore city
The report points to the incredible rush to sink borewells, estimating that
Cumulatively, as of Jan 2010 there were
Map showing location of water samples collected in Bangalore city
The report estimates that the exploitation of groundwater is twice that of sustainable levels. Groundwater is divided into static and dynamic resources; the dynamic groundwater resource is the groundwater that is replenished from the rain every year. The report estimates that we are exploiting groundwater at twice the size of the dynamic resource. This means we are tapping into the static groundwater resource (i.e. deep water that is not easily rechargeable). Therefore the resource quantity will keep decreasing every year until all the water is tapped out. The report succinctly states: "
Groundwater quality (drinking) map of Bangalore city
The depth of water in 'shallow' aquifers has been consistently monitored at 13 places in the city from 1975. Surprisingly the depth to the water table has not increased much since then. Of course this does not refer to the deep waters that borewells tap, but nevertheless this is unexpected, and perhaps requires an explanation from a qualified / experienced hydrologist.
Spatial distribution of nitrate in groundwater in Bangalore city
The report also strongly advocates rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and revival of lakes as the way forward.
While this is highly disturbing in itself, this is actually down from the still more alarming 50% that a similar study in 2003 had found. The improvement is welcome news, but also puzzling in that there are no strong causative factors that come to mind that could have caused an improvement. The city continues to be cavalier about its management of groundwater with the notable exception of the legislation that makes rainwater harvesting compulsory. However so far it is not being enforced with any degree of seriousness. On the other hand, a closer look at the two studies shows that the 2003 study covered 400 sq km. of area while the current study covers a larger area of 741 sq km., necessitated by the creation of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). In that sense we cannot directly compare the two sets of results and it might actually be that the groundwater quality in the older Bangalore area has actually worsened from 2003.
Spatial distribution of flouride in groundwater in BBMP area in Bangalore city
It may be noted that the water testing was done in the pre-monsoon period of 2010.
Water with high TDS indeed might have an undesirable taste and may not be comfortable to bathe in, but the scare raised by sales people should be taken with a pinch of salt.
People living in these areas have reason to be concerned and should get their water tested.
One of the simplest things one can do is to get our water tested at the Department of Mines and Geology, the same organisation that put out this report. Their address is 49, Khanija Bhavan, Racecourse Road. Website of the department: http://mines.kar.nic.in/.
Take a clean bottle filled with a liter of the water you drink after rinsing it in the same water. Don’t use empty juice or cola bottles. The test costs about Rs 400/- (Call them at 22269632 for exact amount and payment mode). You can also get your water tested at several private laboratories in the city, a list can be found here: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/post/1797.