Rejuvenation of water sources on

Officials claim hydrofracturing has improved water quantity in 381 bore wells

The deaths of children at D Salundi village, following Dengue outbreak highlighted the severe water scarcity of the region.

The village is located in Jayapura Hobli of Mysore taluk, which is among the worst affected by water shortage in the district.

Statistics provided by the department of Mines and Geology on the trend of ground water levels show that the Hobli recorded the highest fall in ground water levels of the district.
Ground water levels in aquifers fell at the rate of 2.474 mt per year in the hobli between 2009-2012, largely due to over-exploitation. Owing to a drought situation in the State, ground-water levels are expected to have dipped further.

The department has been maintaining data on water levels in 69 wells and bore wells, in seven taluks across the district. During the period it was noted that the water levels had dipped in 60 per cent of the wells.

It is interesting to note that only one of the nine sampling wells in Mysore taluk, recorded a marginal rise in water levels during the period.

Data on the taluk wise categorisation of water level fluctuation also confirms the fall. Here, measurements from 50 stations from around the district were taken, which indicated that water levels have dipped in 28 stations.

Hydrofracture

Though several measures are being taken to address this concern, Hydrofracture technique employed by the district administration appears to have eased water scarcity in parts of the district.

The technique is aimed at rejuvenating low yielding bore wells, by injecting high pressure water into the bore well, which increases the water quantity.

As many as 398 bore wells were hydrofractured in Mysore district in 2012-13, of which water availability has increased in 381 of them, said R Pranesh Rao, Geologist, Panchayat Raj Engineering Division.

CEO of Zilla Panchayat, P V Gopal said that Mysore is one among the six districts in the State, where hydro-fracturing is employed to improve water quantity in bore wells. “We have achieved considerable success by employing the technique,” he said.

Among the bore wells hydrofractured in the district, 111 bore wells were from Mysore taluk and 106 were from Nanjangud taluk. Water levels have increased in 109 bore wells of Mysore and 101 borewells in Nanjangud taluk, Pranesh said.
It costs Rs 16,000 to carry out the exercise on one bore well.