The water crisis

The Karnataka water crisis has affected more than 7,000 villages, 1,100 wards, and 220 talukas thus far. The State saw consecutive years of surplus rain, but the monsoon failed in 2023. While the water level at the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam hit a five-year low for February, the underground water table levels have also depleted, aggravating the crisis. Several districts are reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. According to Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar, “Karnataka has not witnessed such a severe drought in the last 30-40 years.”

In Bengaluru, water woes have begun even before peak summer can set in. Of the 10,955 borewells drilled by the BBMP, 1,214 have completely dried up. In 3,700 others, the water levels have dropped. This, coupled with soaring mercury levels and lack of preparedness by the city administration, has left IT capital parched. In February, most households in the city, which depend on water supply from the Cauvery river or water tankers, were left scrambling as tanker prices skyrocketed too.

While the civic administration has now stepped in to provide some solace to the poor by capping water tanker prices and also regulating the tanker mafia, albeit with little success, people of Bengaluru living in apartments as well as independent houses are making their own efforts at conservation to cope with the crisis.

The Indian Express writes–

This summer, Bengaluru will not just have to be prepared for the heat but also for the shortage of water. With the depletion of underground water and drought in the Cauvery basin, Bengaluru city is staring at a Cape Town-like water crisis this year.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, recently expressed his plight, saying the water crisis in the city has not spared him either. “All the borewells in the city, including the borewell at my house, have dried up,” Shivakumar had said.

This concern was echoed by Dr TV Ramachandra, professor, Centre for Ecological Science, Indian Institute of Science, as well.

Bengaluru requires nearly 1,450 million litre per day (MLD) of water from the Cauvery and an additional 700 mld from groundwater resources. However, with both sources going dry, several distress calls have been coming in from various industries, institutions, and residents.

The water crisis in the city has impacted large apartments, gated communities, government and private schools, fire brigades, hotels and restaurants, which are reeling under severe shortages due to the demand and supply gap. Experts have pointed out that the situation is an outcome of multiple factors including, depletion of groundwater resources, lack of access to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) water supply connection, and inefficient water management system, among others.

After the Karnataka government took over water tankers, capped prices, and penalised for misuse of potable water, Bengaluru residents are on the edge ahead of the two to three months of summer. The BWSSB has been urging apartments and gated communities, as well as commercial establishments, to use treated water for non-drinking purposes and said it would ensure a regular supply of potable water.

Apartments and gated communities

Sprawling over several hectares of land in the peripheral region of the city, several gated communities and apartments boast of clubhouses, gyms, swimming pools, parks, and other amenities. But the lack of groundwater and challenging access to water tankers, apartments and gated communities are staring at desperate times.

A case in point is the Prestige Falcon City off Kanakapura Road. A Reddit user, who claims to be a resident of the luxurious apartment, anonymously posted about how the apartment is being rendered ‘inhabitable’ because of the water crisis. The user claimed that there is no water supply during the daytime forcing tenants to vacate flats. “You get to smell the stink of unflushed human excreta in toilet bowls from far away. It’s not uncommon to see a line of residents going to the nearby forum mall to do their business…too much frustration and pain to bear when you are paying EMI for 1 cr+ of housing loan,” the user wrote on the platform.

However, Captain (Retired) Vasantha Kumar, President, Resident Welfare Association, Prestige Falcon City refuted the user’s claims as “unfounded and baseless”.

“As of now, we are supplying water two times a day for two hours each. There are over 2,500 flats and we require about 10 lakh litres of water per day. We are managing water through a combination of BWSSB, borewell, and Cauvery water. Water tankers are supplying water to us. But the real challenge is the next two to three months. We are anticipating rainfall which can mitigate the crisis. If not, it will be very difficult,” said Kumar.

Bengaluru fire department

The Bengaluru fire department has also been hit by water scarcity, but it is now dependent on other water sources with the city reporting more than 50 incidents every day on average.

Educational institutions

This time, Bengaluru education institutions have also fallen victim to the water crisis, forcing Abheek Academy on Bannerghatta Road to temporarily shut down its home school.

At government schools, authorities are making alternative arrangements for drinking water and toilets. “We are arranging mineral water cans to cater to drinking water needs and calling tankers for water in toilets. The borewells have completely gone dry and we need to rebore to tap the groundwater. The BWSSB has assured us of early action,” said an education department official.

Hotels and restaurants

While many hotels and restaurants are managing with robust water management systems including rainwater harvesting and STPs, some hotels in East Bengaluru like Sarjapur and Marathahalli seem to be struggling with water scarcity.

Ajay Gowda, managing partner, Byg Ventures, and promoter of brands like microbrewery Byg Brewski, said, “Some of us have taken the preemptive decision of installing adequate water management systems, anticipating such a water crisis much earlier. It is indeed a challenge to operate given the situation in Bengaluru. But all we are doing is requesting cooperation from customers to use water judiciously. We have installed diffusers to our water taps, which reduces the flow by 30 per cent than regular tap water.”

“The crisis seems to have affected some restaurants and hotels along Sarjapur Road that don’t have BWSSB connection. I have heard from some of my colleagues in the business who are struggling with water scarcity. But I believe none of the hotels or restaurants have shut due to water shortage. I urge the government to focus on recharging borewells, creating lake beds, and enforcing adequate water management systems in both residential and commercial establishments, as they would for infrastructure projects.”




Why has the situation become so severe?

It could be ignorance, lack of initiative, poor water management, unnecessary wastage, irresponsible waste disposal and an array of other reasons. It is common knowledge that global warming will have a disastrous effect on life and while efforts have been made to quell its wrath, not enough people have understood the depth of its implication. We might not see people openly dumping garbage around or setting it on fire, but there have been plenty of instances where a tap was left running, a blub or fan was left switched on etc. These might seem like petty offences but if everyone continued to do this, it would build up to something catastrophic.

Taking the current water crises for instance, people didn't seem concerned about the issue until it directly affected them. If each person had taken responsibility at the first sign of this crisis and done something to counter or at least lessen its effects, this would not have become as serious as it has.


What can the solutions be?

The obvious answer to that question is to lessen our use of water. If you normally take a shower, replace it with a bucket and a mug because you generally don't realise how much water you use through a shower. Recycle the water used while washing vegetables and use it for other purposes such as watering plants, flushing the toilet, mopping the floors etc. Avoid washing your cars or bikes and stick to just dusting them with a cloth. These are just a few examples of how water can be saved.

One of the most important ways to conserve water is through rain water harvesting. As we know, most of the ground is covered by cement or tar and the rain water cannot seep into the soil and replenish the groundwater. It simply flows away, causes minor floods and evaporates the next day. To prevent rain water wastage, every house, apartment, commercial complex and any building ever constructed should have a rain water harvesting facility.

Apart from these, if people use their common sense, get over their petty and selfish ways, and actually make an effort to conserve the resources, none of these issues would ever be as bad as they are right now.

References

The Hindu Bureau. (2024, March 12). Water woes | A searing crisis in Karnataka and its IT capital, Bengaluru. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/water-woes-a-searing-crisis-in-karnataka-and-its-it-capital-bengaluru/article67938701.ece


Prasad, S., & Parashar, K. (2024, March 11). From schools to fire department, how Bengaluru’s water shortage is driving the city to a Cape Town-like situation. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/schools-fire-department-bengaluru-water-crisis-cape-town-like-situation-9206395/