Bengaluru water crisis

Source-This post on Bengaluru water crisis has been created based on the articles “WHAT HAPPENED TO The Bengaluru dream?” published in “Live Mint” on 14 March 2024 and “What has caused the water crisis in Bengaluru, neighbouring areas” published in “The Indian Express” on 20 March 2024 respectively.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-1– Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

News- Bengaluru is recently witnessing one of the worst water crises.

What is the reason behind Bengaluru water crisis?

1) Unplanned urbanization– There has been haphazard and unplanned urbanization in Bengaluru. There are problems of contamination of groundwater resources by the discharge of industrial chemicals, sewers and improper mining activities

2) Inadequate monsoon-Bengaluru faced sub-par monsoon in 2023 and received little rain since November. Half the city depends on groundwater, but many borewells have run dry. This has created acute water stress.

3) Nature of aquifer-South India has a very different kind of aquifer system. It is very rocky, hence aquifers are not able to hold a lot of water. They empty out quickly, and they also get recharged pretty quickly. This implies that groundwater resources are not able to sustain for very long in the event of a prolonged dry spell.

4) Falling reservoir levels-Latest data from the Central Water Commission shows that Karnataka reservoirs are currently holding water at only 26% of their full capacity. This is at least 10% points lower than what is expected at this time of the year

5)  Concretization and reduced green cover – High pace of concretization has reduced porous surface area and restricted rainwater from entering the lower layers of the grounds, because of which the groundwater table cannot be recharged.
For ex- in the 1970s, Bengaluru had 68% green cover, and 8% of the surface was paved. Now, 86% of the surface is concretized, and the green cover has shrunk to 3%) 

6) Over-exploitation of ground water– With limited supply of fresh water piped from Cauvery, the city’s groundwater table has been over-exploited.

7) Lack of effective water governance– There is unregulated extraction, pumping and usage of water without any special protocol or judicious distribution. As a result, it reached a tipping point, when borewells ran out of water.

8) Lack of sensitivity in citizens– Since water is a free resource, it is not valued by the citizens. Citizens are completely detached from the water issues.

Read more- Water Crisis in India

What are the steps taken by the government to address the Bengaluru water crisis?

1) Imposition of fines– The Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has introduced fines, beginning at ₹5,000, for non-essential use of potable water such as gardening and car washing.

2) Regulating price of water tankers– The Karnataka government has capped water tanker prices based on distance travelled to avoid customers being overcharged. The government has also made it mandatory for the private water tankers in the city to register with the civic body.

What should be the way ahead?

1) Creation of Waste water market– A private marketplace to buy and sell treated waste water needs to be encouraged. A housing society, with a sewage treatment plant (STP) that treats water, can sell excess water to external parties. Treated water can be sold to agencies like BWSSB, other housing societies without STPs, or the civic body.

2) Water Literacy-There should be sensitization of citizens about the source of water, where it goes after usage, how much citizens consume, the cost of production, and the price we pay. This may ensure judicious use of water resources.

Question for practice

What are the reasons behind the acute Bengaluru water crisis?