Open wells to Bengaluru's rescue?

Bengaluru: Over the next few years, Bengaluru’s water deficit is going to widen alarmingly. With the population of the city set to surge even more over the next few years, the water supply of to the city will not be adequate to meet the needs of its population.

Before Cauvery became the main provider of drinking water to Bengaluru in 1972, there were thousands of open wells, virtually one per home in Bengaluru.
Most have been closed down. Still there are 40,000 open wells in Bengaluru, and about 10,000 of them are alive, or functioning. If only a major drive is undertaken with state funding, three-fourths of these wells or about 30,000 can be revived.
This will add to water availability.

Environmentalist Dr. A.N. Yellapa Reddy said, “We must protect the watershed area. Mother Nature should be able to store water in her womb. This city has exhausted its reserves of dynamic water, which is found up to 60 feet. Constantly drilling bore wells has even exhausted static water reserves which lie at a depth of 200 feet. The tanks need to be regenerated by desilting them. The rajakaluves (storm water drains) must be cleaned and maintained. To regenerate the water shed area we must plan and execute with devotion. If this is done, then maybe in the next 25 years, we can reclaim a small percentage of our dynamic water reserves.”

In and around Bengaluru, there are hundreds of tanks, many of them are functional. If only all these tanks are revived and reserved for drinking water supply for Bengaluru (with irrigation being banned strictly), Bengaluru’s water availability can be increased exponentially.

Kannada filmmaker, director, actor and well known environmentalist Suresh Heblikar said, “Bengaluru has the landscape for holding water. The state government and civic agencies must work hand in hand to clean the open wells, desilt tanks and turn to rain-water harvesting to help recharge the open wells. Even rainfall in a region depends on the water bodies present. Lack of open water bodies could disrupt the monsoon pattern.”

Bengaluru has an abundance of water bodies, many of which have been encroached upon. The state government needs to act now in hand with civic agencies or a parched future may not be far off for city residents.