Karnataka: KC valley project improved groundwater in Kolar & Chikkaballapura, says ex MP Rajeev Gowda

Bengaluru: The Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) valley project has significantly boosted groundwater levels in the drought-prone Kolar and Chikkaballapura districts of Karnataka.

Revealing this while speaking at 'Drop Talk: Redefining Water Conservation'  at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), former Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda said, "Earlier, sewage water would follow the gravity path and eventually get dumped in neighbouring states such as Tamil Nadu. After this project, the water is getting treated and released to the valley, which follows the path and reaches the rajakaluves of the region. This process has significantly increased the groundwater level". 

The KC valley project was launched in 2018 to pump about 440 million litres of treated sewage water to tanks of Kolar and Chikkaballapur region.

Dr Krishna Raj, RBI chair professor, Institute of Social and Economic Change, stressed the idea of 'One Water, One Solution'.

Water source protection, watershed management, aquifer recharge, flood protection, stormwater management and resilience to climate change were some of the important issues that had to be considered, he said.  

Along with that, reduction of water pollution, efficient use and reuse of water resources based on their economic value were also to be given attention to, Raj said.