Digging deeper into trouble for water

BANGALORE: Most borewells in the city and its vicinity have dried up leading to further digging of new borewells. The water crisis has grown in the last few decades leading to a high rate of ground water depletion. If the city users do not take clear and visible steps, then the city will soon witness violence over water. “Over 50 to 100 bore wells are dug each day. People just assume that as they go deeper inside the earth, they may reach some water. The need for water is increasing with the explosion of population, IT migration and increase in users. But, sustainability is absent,” said Anil Abbi, Geologist and borewell driller in the city.According to the five-yearly reports on ground water resources (2008-2009) the net annual ground water availability for Bangalore urban of east, west, south and Anekal is experiencing a hundred per cent over-exploitation. The net ground water availability for the future according to the department of Geology and Mining is zero for the Bangalore Urban, as well as rural, except for Nelamangala.According to Prabhakar B, Professor of Geochemistry, Bangalore University, “Residential usage is particularly high. Especially, in the layouts where river water is unavailable. And in places like Kolar, water is depleting at a higher rate. Underground water there is extensively used for irrigation while the rainfall is not more than 500 mm per year.  But, the point is that people are used to this panic (on shortage of water) and do not take it seriously. Over 475 taluks of Karanataka were affected by drought. What if it prevails in Bangalore? I won’t say it will for sure. But, it might be, if the rainfall pattern continues to be scarce.”He further added, “There is nothing wrong with the laws regarding groundwater. They are wonderful if they are to be practiced. But, the problem is that neither the guardians of law nor the abiders of law are interested in following them. We have the Central and the State groundwater board. The law says that there has to be at least a 100 mts difference between two borewells. Nobody cares about that,” More than 150 lakes in the city have been encroached over a period of time to build huge concrete structures. The depletion of ground water table has not been adequately recharged. Also, rampant cutting of trees in the City has resulted in reduction in rainfall over the years, thus having an adverse impact on the natural water recharge cycle.