Rampant borewell drilling may leave Bengaluru high & dry

As water demand spikes along with summer temperatures, Bengaluru is witnessing rampant drilling of illegal borewells.

Experts say this could adversely impact the groundwater table. Lack of regulation might also encourage more indiscriminate drilling.

Poor monitoring will lead to groundwater exploitation, which could have grave effects, they warn.

“I have seen close to 20 borewells being dug up at an apartment construction site. The exploitation of groundwater to such an extent will bring down the water levels drastically, and eventually, Bengaluru will have to completely depend on water from other sources,” said Ramprasad V from Friends of Lakes (FOL).

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is responsible for granting permission for borewell digging, but sources in BWSSB said the body doesn’t have enough bandwidth to prevent illegal digging.

“We stop illegal digging of borewells if someone from the neighborhood complains. Otherwise, with the staff that we have, it is difficult to keep a watch on every borewell being dug across the city,” a senior BWSSB official said.

Sandeep Anirudhan from Namma Whitefield said rampant drilling has affected existing borewells as well. “Many are running out of water due to such practices. There is a scientific way of digging a borewell. But no one follows the due procedure. This affects the surrounding areas, too. For instance, in Mahadevapura, where water was available at 900-1,200 feet, people are going as deep as 1,700 feet now,” he said.

The depth at which water is available also indicates the quality of water, said Anjaneya Reddy, president of Shashwatha Neeravari Horata Samithi.

“None of the officials are concerned about the quality of water. Water available at such depths cannot be used for many purposes. There is a need to create awareness among people about this,” Reddy said.

He added that it is unfair to use groundwater for construction and other commercial activities.

“Borewells are acceptable in areas where people don’t have potable water supply and they depend on it for drinking purposes. But if they do not regulate the use for other purposes, it is a blatant misuse of a community resource,” Reddy said.

The BWSSB had in 2019 announced that permission would be denied for those digging borewells to meet construction needs. But there has been no monitoring on the ground.

While Sandeep suggested that treated water could be used for construction purposes, Prasad said those digging borewells should also dig up recharge pits. “If we are pulling out water, we should also take the responsibility of refilling them. Through such initiatives, we can move towards sustainability,” he said.