Percolating sewerage contaminates ground water

 
The contamination is rapidly increasing in urban pockets where people, unaware of conservation and recharging techniques, are inadvertently contributing to the water pollution.

In the areas newly included in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits where Underground Drainage (UGD) system is non-existent, pits are dug in front of houses to let out the sewerage. The prolonged stagnation results in percolation of sewerage adding pollutants to the pure water underground.

Borewell water turns salty

Residents of Ramamurthynagar have already started getting salty water from their borewells. “The water we are now receiving is unfit for human consumption. People have been suffering from health problems such as diarrhoea and vomiting,” said Anjanappa, a resident.

Citizens have also been polluting the borewells by not maintaining sanitation in the vicinity of hand pumps.

A scientist working in the Central Ground Water Board explained, “People wash clothes and leave the water around the borewells. The soap water seeps down and the chemicals get mixed with the ground water. People dump garbage too, which also adds to the ground water pollution.”

He said people don’t make efforts to recharge dry wells; instead, such wells are used as garbage dumps rendering them unfit for rain water harvesting. “The dumped garbage does not allow percolation of rain water and thus the wells remain dry,” he added.