S Vishwanath, a Bengaluru-based water conservation professional — popularly generally known as ‘Zenrainman’ on social media — believes that nationwide mainstream media reporting on town’s water shortage drawback has been “fully excessive” and that “everybody must calm the hell down”.

“Should you outline a disaster as a city-level one, the options will probably be discovered at a metropolis scale. The Authorities will say ‘We’ll construct a big dam on the Cauvery referred to as the Mekedatu and that may convey 3,000 million litres of water a day and clear up Bengaluru’s water drawback’. However really, it’s an area drawback of aquifer collapse. If we outline the issue appropriately, we can have the best options for town,” says Vishwanath, talking to The Higher India.

“Incidental tales of individuals standing in a queue the place a borewell has damaged down in an RO plant or of some individual utilizing moist wipes to scrub themselves should not useful in any respect. Sure, real issues within the metropolis must be highlighted, however should you chase issues all day with 100 cameras, it’s loopy,” he provides, “This type of reporting just isn’t serving to anybody in any respect.”

Vishwanath — a civil engineer and concrete planner with greater than three a long time of expertise within the water and sanitation sector — has beforehand labored on the Karnataka Water Coverage in 2019. He’s additionally a Trustee of the Biome Environmental Belief, a Bengaluru-based non-profit.

So, how would he outline the present disaster?

“Basically, it’s the failure of the state. Should you construct your piped water community to the remainder of town, then there will probably be much less strain in your aquifers, and there will probably be no want to attract groundwater. Your borewells can have water and there will probably be no want for tanker water provide. Because you’ve not given piped water provide [to some parts of the city], then the answer lies in groundwater extraction. Because of this when groundwater collapses, there isn’t any various supply of water provide,” he says.

Elaborating on this level additional, he says, “There isn’t any [water] drawback in about three-fourths of town. We received 1,470 million litres of water [per day] coming from the Cauvery [river], and there are about 1.1 million [piped water] connections masking 10 individuals per connection. For 11 million residents of town, this isn’t an issue. For 3 to three.5 million individuals residing within the outskirts depending on groundwater, there are [water scarcity] issues in pockets.”

Just lately the Bangalore Water Provide and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) issued an in depth checklist marking out areas most severely impacted by water shortage.

In response to information gathered from the Karnataka Groundwater Authority by The Hindu on 29 March, “The information of groundwater ranges for final December and this January and February exhibits that Bengaluru East taluk, which homes one of many main IT corridors of town, the place the water disaster is most extreme and groundwater exploitation unbridled, has seen essentially the most dip in groundwater ranges this summer season.”

So, why are some elements of town struggling a lot with water shortage?

Vishwanath explains, “It’s the right storm. What occurred was that we have been purported to get water from the Cauvery Section-5 challenge (delivering 775 million litres a day), and that ought to have been accomplished a 12 months and a half in the past. If this challenge had been accomplished, there would have been no disaster. With the completion of this challenge, thousands and thousands of individuals in Bengaluru who don’t have a piped connection would have one with water flowing in it. However that challenge received delayed and is anticipated to be accomplished in Could-June 2024.”

“Additionally, a number of the main metropolis lakes have been drained and de-silted. That challenge ought to have been accomplished three years again, however this challenge has been happening for 4 to 5 years. Should you desilt and drain lakes for these a few years, their capability to recharge aquifers is non-existent. That’s the place all of the borewells have dried up,” he provides.

In elements of town, nonetheless, the groundwater desk is excessive, in line with Vishwanath.

“For instance, in Cubbon Park, the open recharge wells have enough water. A few of the lakes, that are stuffed with water, are good for percolation. In these areas, the borewells are at a depth of 150 to 300 ft. The place there isn’t any piped water provide, the groundwater desk could be very low. If the Cauvery Section-5 challenge is accomplished, the issue of water shortage within the metropolis will go away to a big extent. If the lakes are stuffed with rainwater or tertiary handled wastewater, then the aquifers will probably be recharged and the issue will develop into so much much less,” he says.

As Vishwanath famous earlier, there are actual issues that must be solved to deal with water shortage within the metropolis. On this article, we’ll spotlight these issues and the way we will clear up them.

Reviving lakes, replenishing groundwater

Whether or not it’s Chennai, Bengaluru, or Hyderabad, earlier than piped water connections, motorised pumps or electrical energy might come into play, residents have been depending on floor water.

Now, because of rampant urbanisation within the metropolis, lakes have develop into nothing however leisure and aesthetically interesting water-holding constructions the place the hydrology or science behind that water physique is commonly forgotten. In lots of instances, it additionally occurs that all year long Bengaluru’s lakes maintain sewage, and don’t have house for freshwater anymore. So, when rainfall occurs, these lakes are stuffed with sewage to the brim and should not capable of take up that water.

“All this impacts the lake system, and thereby the groundwater. We’re one of the crucial intense borewelling communities on the planet. Nowhere else will you see so many borewells being dug in every single place, which technically depletes all of the groundwater reserves,” says Arun Krishnamurthy of the Environmentalist Basis of India (EFI), which revives water our bodies.

“With groundwater reserves depleted and lakes holding sewage, which additionally means there isn’t any house for freshwater from the monsoon rains to movement into — all these elements put collectively are inflicting this sort of drought. Bengaluru isn’t the primary although provided that Chennai went by one thing comparable in 2018-19. Any city pocket in India is certain to be affected by such a situation provided that we don’t have a transparent understanding of floor water our bodies,” he provides.

So, how do you go about revving these water our bodies and enhancing the groundwater stage?

Arun speaks of Devanahalli Kere, the primary lake EFI took up in Bengaluru for revival in 2022. As an organisation, they’ve largely focussed on suburban Bengaluru quite than the primary metropolis space. It’s because the suburban lakes have been heading on the present path of town lakes.

“To stop any form of contamination or encroachment, we’ve got taken up water our bodies in Ramanagara, Tumkur, and Bengaluru (Rural) districts, and the closest such lake to the primary metropolis is the Devanahalli Lake. Inside Karahalli, which is subsequent to Devanahalli, we’ve got revived no less than 5 water our bodies. What we’ve got achieved is deepening these water our bodies to extend storage capability, regulating their inlet and outlet channels so that there’s a free movement of water, and we’ve got additionally ensured recharge wells have been created in all these methods,” explains Arun.

“Constructing these recharge wells is all about guaranteeing there may be sufficient groundwater percolation. Making a water holding construction based mostly on the soil construction, understanding its utilisation worth to the area, and creating percolation trenches and recharge wells have all been our key focus — whether or not it’s in Devanahalli, Karahalli, the Baddihalli Lake in Tumkur metropolis, or the Hulikunte lake. EFI has restored all these water our bodies with this bigger level in thoughts,” he provides.

And the influence of all these initiatives on the communities who dwell close to these lakes has been seen. “Their borewells should not as dry as what we hear from different elements of town. These lakes, which have been typically used as dumping websites, at the moment are now not perceived as such. Folks wish to shield them. When droughts happen, individuals realise and perceive the importance of those lakes higher they usually volunteer with us to keep up and maintenance them,” he claims.

What goes into the upkeep and maintenance of those water our bodies contains the prevention of encroachment, dumping of rubbish, and sewage coming into that lake, and maintaining a tally of the water physique normally to keep up its high quality and space.

But it surely’s additionally essential to make sure that the canals interlinking these lakes are properly maintained. As Arun notes, “Interlinking of water our bodies at an NGO stage is unattainable just because between two lakes, the canal system that exists will largely fall beneath Authorities land or non-public land. We are able to suggest Authorities businesses to replace these canal methods.”

“Our suggestions to the Authorities will even embody correctly mapping these water our bodies, watershed wetlands, and stopping encroachment the place crucial and specializing in the structural integrity of freshwater methods. We desperately want the latter at the moment. However we is not going to be able to revive these interlinking areas fully just because we don’t have the bandwidth to speak to all of the landowners and take away encroachment or extra. What is feasible on our stage, nonetheless, is inlet-outlet regulation inside the lake’s periphery,” he provides.

Are lakes in the primary metropolis past redemption?

“They don’t seem to be past redemption if there’s a sturdy political will, heavy scientific backing, and full group understanding of the issue. Even when one in all these parts is lacking, these lakes can’t be saved,” he says.

Recharge wells over borewells

Moreover lakes, one other key ingredient in elevating the groundwater stage and establishing a surplus water provide is open recharge wells. An open [recharge] properly is just a gap within the floor that enables entry to water underground. These wells are used to extract water from the shallowest stage — usually present in unconfined shallow aquifers the place water is held with none strain. These aquifers obtain water when rain or different floor water percolates down into it — a course of generally known as recharge.

Chatting with The Higher India, Vishwanath says, “As we converse, properly diggers working with BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), as a part of the shallow aquifer administration challenge of the Authorities of India, just lately cleaned up a properly in a selected locality very near my home referred to as Nandini Structure. That [open recharge] properly at the moment provides one lakh litres of water [a day] and helps 500-700 resident households for non-potable use.”

“Within the north of town, we at Biome Environmental Belief, with the assistance of a CSR initiative, cleaned up six wells, and in two of them, the ladies within the space instructed us to not set up a motor. They wished to attract the water manually. At present 50 to 70 households within the space can draw water from the properly. In two different wells, the city municipal council have put in pumps, and thus far, they’ve received 70 million litres of water for his or her city municipal space,” he provides.

Vishwanath goes on to elaborate on different such initiatives his belief has launched into.

As he claims, “Within the Devanahalli township, the place the worldwide airport is situated, we’ve been capable of work with a number of NGOs and companions who cleaned up a lake, which is now stuffed with rainwater and well-treated wastewater from Bengaluru. This water filters into the earth and there may be an previous open properly we’ve got revived. That properly provides 2.5 lakh litres of water a day to which we’ve got connected a water remedy plant and are supplying that water to the city of Devanahalli. We’ve got additionally constructed filter borewells, that are shallow borewells which go 80 to 100 ft deep, they usually have a porous casing and performance like open recharge wells.”

“Wherever we do good [open] recharge [wells] and lakes are revived, it’s the shallow aquifer which comes again to life,” he provides.

Vishwanath believes that each constructing in Bengaluru will be a part of the answer. “Take all of the rainwater you’ll be able to, retailer it in a sump tank and reuse it. In case you have extra rainwater, please ensure that this goes into recharge wells in order that the shallow aquifer is full and you then dip into it in occasions of want. That’s the general aim of our ‘One Million Wells for Bengaluru’ initiative.”

So, why weren’t these options put in place in elements of town that don’t have piped connections and are at the moment struggling for water?

“It’s because we don’t have a groundwater administration plan. We don’t have a groundwater authority which integrates groundwater into our ingesting water wants. We simply have somebody who permits us to drill borewells. We don’t understand how a lot groundwater exists under our ft, the place are the recharge zones, the place we retain them, how a lot water are we drawing from every sub-aquifer, and the way we draw a steadiness between demand and provide. Within the absence of a groundwater cell within the BWSSB or the absence of a groundwater plan or an aquifer administration plan, what occurs is everyone seems to be tapping into the aquifer,” explains Vishwanath.

What we’re seeing at the moment in Bengaluru is aggressive drilling. In elements of town, individuals have dug borewells as deep as 1,800 ft.

“Everyone is taking water out. No one is placing water again in. Except we create the best kind of establishment, which is liable for groundwater and manages it as a standard pool useful resource for all residents, that is what’s going to occur and is going on. The issue is institutional and lies in governance or lack thereof,” provides Vishwanath.

If groundwater ranges are the issue within the periphery of the primary metropolis, Vishwanath advocates the necessity to transfer from aggressive drilling to cooperative filling.

“As soon as it’s cooperative filling, we have to fill the lakes and make recharge wells in order that when the rains come, the water flows into the aquifer. That’s the resolution. At the moment, we’ve got glorious tertiary handled water in a few of our wastewater remedy vegetation like in Jakkur, Cubbon Park, and so on the place you’ll be able to drink the water from the sewage remedy vegetation (STPs),” he says.

“We have to take this water and fill our lakes rapidly, which at the moment are dry, in order that the aquifer will get recharged. We should always begin getting ready to scrub up our rainwater harvesting methods and ensure new recharge wells are dug in order that when the summer season rains come, these drops of water are pushed into the aquifer. If that is achieved, we will overcome the issue within the brief run,” he provides.

Harvesting rainwater

The ‘One Million Wells for Bengaluru’ initiative was conceived and facilitated by Biome Environmental Belief to resolve town’s water disaster someday in 2005. The motion’s foremost goal has been to allow households throughout town to adapt to the regulation mandating rainwater harvesting. And this additionally contains “a recharge properly” possibility.

Being on the helm of assorted initiatives like ‘One Million Wells for Bengaluru’ and different rainwater harvesting initiatives, we requested Vishwanath to clarify their influence on town.

“For instance, the Rail Wheel Manufacturing unit in Yelahanka, the place they’ve achieved good rainwater harvesting, their open recharge wells are giving them two lakh litres of water a day. At IIM Bangalore, the place rainwater harvesting has been achieved, their borewells are giving them water at 300 to 400 ft, they usually’re getting sufficient water,” claims Vishwanath.

“Wherever rainwater harvesting is finished properly and in concentrated quantities, there was no drawback. Their aquifers are full and have water regardless of this 12 months’s drought. Even in Cubbon Park, the place individuals and organisations have achieved rainwater harvesting like Buddies of Lakes, there may be water in open recharge wells. Rainwater harvesting can ship in X quantity of water however your withdrawal must be lower than X. In case your draw is 2X, then even this received’t assist,” he provides.

Having mentioned that, there are extra issues concerning the rainwater harvesting (RWH) infrastructure within the metropolis. It’s essential to notice that the BWSSB Modification Act, 2011, made RWH obligatory for all properties on plots measuring 60×40 sq ft and above, and new properties developing on 30×40 sq ft websites. In 2015, penalties have been launched for properties that didn’t comply.

In a 7 December 2023 report for Citizen Issues, a Bengaluru-based media publication, reporter Navya PK writes, “…town at present has 10.8 lakh properties with water connections, however only one.9 lakh (almost 18%) of them have carried out RWH.”

“One other 39,703 properties have been recognized for non-implementation and are paying penalties each month. These properties embody particular person properties, flats (every residence is counted as a single connection), and industrial properties,” she provides.

In different phrases, compliance is a severe subject despite the fact that putting in a RWH system is neither very difficult nor cost-intensive. Vishwanath notes that residents ought to construct strong RWH methods in order that they don’t should face quality-related issues down the road.

He believes that there are sufficient high quality supplies and competent plumbers current available in the market. A person house can set up a RWH system for as little as Rs 5,000. Even should you insist on utilizing a high-quality filter, it may be achieved inside Rs 15,000, supplied you don’t should construct a brand new sump, he argues. And the advantages of this method are actual.

“In our house, we’ve got rainwater harvesting methods which can be working optimally. Though the final rains within the metropolis have been in November, our 1,000-litre rain barrel nonetheless has sufficient water for our ingesting and cooking wants until June,” provides Vishwanath.

On the query of compliance, in line with a Bangalore Mirror report by Sridhar Vivan on 9 January 2024, “A staggering Rs 21.24 crore was collected as penalties for non-compliance with rainwater harvesting laws till November-end final 12 months.”

For non-implementation of RWH in residential properties, fines begin from 25% of their water invoice for the primary three months, and 50% afterwards. For non-residential properties, it’s 50% and 100% of the water invoice respectively.

Vishwanath argues that it’s powerful to anticipate 100% compliance and argues that penalising residents is probably not the way in which ahead. As an alternative, he recommends that folks ought to wish to arrange a RWH system of their properties after a technique of schooling and communication. And the advantages of putting in such a system in every Bengaluru house can be immense.

A Bengaluru Water Datajam organised final month by Open Metropolis, a civic tech challenge, discovered that based mostly on rainfall information from 2022, “456 Million Litres per Day(MLD) might have been harvested in Bengaluru from the rooftops, which is 25% of the water demand of town – 1890 MLD.”

Is dipping into wastewater the way in which ahead?

Rashmi Kulranjan and Shashank Palur, who’re hydrologists at WELL LABS, wrote a column for The Hindu on 24 March 2024 the place they recognized an answer to town’s water woes.

“Rainwater harvesting might make a dent on the freshwater wants of town nevertheless it pales compared to wastewater. At the moment, solely one-third of town’s wastewater is redirected for exterior reuse, which suggests it’s taken to Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and Devenahalli, the place it’s used to replenish each groundwater and floor water sources,” they wrote.

“The remaining water flows into lakes and runs off land to affix rivers downstream. This implies the massive quantum of wastewater generated within the metropolis is an untapped useful resource. As soon as handled to the required high quality, wastewater can considerably mitigate freshwater consumption and will be essential in making town water resilient throughout low rainfall years,” they added.

It’s a sentiment that Vikas Brahmavar, founding father of Boson Whitewater, a Bengaluru-based water utility startup, shares. Chatting with The Higher India, he says, “We should always not have a metropolis working on the hope of excellent rains. In spite of everything, if there aren’t any rains until June, will probably be a stress even on the municipal provide. We should always have a metropolis working on the hope of the wastewater flowing out and make use of freshwater provide as a buffer for our on a regular basis wants.”

“In any metropolis in India, when authorities plan water distribution, they by no means take a look at what goes out of town. Should you take a look at developed cities like Singapore, the planning just isn’t based mostly on freshwater obtainable in dams however based mostly on the predictable wastewater which goes out of town, as a result of that may be estimated clearly based mostly on the inhabitants,” says Vikas.

“If the inhabitants of a given metropolis is understood, authorities in locations like Singapore know precisely the quantity of wastewater which goes out. From the quantity wastewater estimated, authorities can then gauge which industries will be coated by that handled wastewater,” he provides.

By way of coverage, their place to begin is wastewater, which addresses sanitation in addition to industrial water necessities, after which they take a look at the freshwater obtainable from dams or different sources.

“This large mindset change has to come back. Any growing nation ought to have this mindset of taking a look at wastewater first earlier than taking a look at freshwater choices,” notes Vikas.

The Boson Whitewater system converts handled wastewater into “high-quality potable water”. The setup has superior an IoT (Web of Issues), AI (synthetic intelligence) and machine studying (ML) enabled 11-step filtration system to scale back bodily, chemical and organic contaminants current in STP-treated wastewater. At the moment, they work with industries, IT parks, malls, and residence communities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and recycle their wastewater.

On the finish of their 11-step filtration course of, he claims that the water doesn’t have any contaminants. “E coli, coliforms, heavy metals, excessive hardness, pesticides, and herbicides are all eliminated, and the water is crystal clear and potable. Nationwide Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) licensed lab studies point out the water is drinkable,” he provides.

Basically, Boson is targeted on this huge quantity of water which goes out of properties, flats, and places of work as handled wastewater.

“As per our estimation, a 300-unit residence will generate about 1,50,000 litres of wastewater a day. The identical constructing advanced can have a sewage remedy plant however solely 20% (about 30,000 litres) of the handled water that comes out from this facility will probably be used. In different phrases, a couple of lakh litres of handled wastewater leads to the drain,” he says.

“Our system can take this one lakh litre of handled wastewater and produce potable-quality water from it in order that the neighbouring properties or industrial amenities don’t have to take advantage of borewell water and as an alternative purchase our potable-quality water for no matter they need,” he provides.

Boson Whitewater is at present collaborating with the Bangalore Water Provide and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on a separate challenge to deal with town’s water shortage drawback. However their prime focus has been the restoration of handled recycled water and promoting it.

“Wastewater will at all times be there whether or not there may be rainfall or not. Since we’re recovering high-quality water from wastewater, our shoppers haven’t been adversely affected as a result of they’ve an everyday provide which is assured by us on a contractual foundation. A few of our shoppers on uncommon events name in a tanker however for essentially the most half, we’re capable of recuperate the wastewater which is accessible to the utmost extent and provide that to them,” he says.

(In Half 2, we’ll take a look at what residents of Bengaluru can do to mitigate water shortage within the metropolis.)

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

(Photographs courtesy Shutterstock/PQN Studios/Joe Ravi/WESTOCK PRODUCTIONS/MudaCom, S Vishwanath & The Higher India)