Pune civic body to survey wells, borewells in city to assess groundwater availability, prepare plan to tackle shortage

Survey to be based on GIS tech
The civic body estimates that there are 5,000 borewells in its jurisdiction, he said, adding that data on the groundwater table in the respective area needs to be gathered. “The survey of wells and borewells will be based on GIS (Geographic Information System) technology and will be superimposed on the city map for easy identification. The civic body would spend Rs 83.75 lakh for the purpose,” said Ram, adding that the survey would be completed in two years.

Demand for water in the city has been on the rise due to urbanisation, growth of educational institutions, industrialisation, and the burgeoning IT sector. Water consumption has increased tremendously in the last decade due to rapid growth.

While the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) supplies water through pipelines from Warje, Vadgaon, Wagholi, Parvati, Cantonment and Holkar water works plants, the shortage in the city’s northeast is addressed by drawing water from the Bhama Askhed dam. Besides, water from the Khadakwasla dam is treated and supplied through 20 pumping stations.

“The information from the survey will help in preparing a list of water resources in the city and provide sustainable as well as affordable water management in the future to cater to the increasing demand for water, population growth, climate change and the increasing load on existing water resources,” the commissioner said.

The survey will also help to identify the areas where the maximum groundwater is drawn which will help in controlling and regularising its use through the framing of a policy. The commissioner said the civic body can utilise the wells and borewells during summers or drought-like situations. “The survey data will be very useful during emergency situations for faster action on the part of the civic body,” said Ram.

The move will also help the civic body in proper planning of aquifer management, including projects for storing groundwater, while keeping a check on its usage by citizens, he said, adding that the groundwater can be a low-cost resource with efficient use as it is cheap, easily available and a local resource. “If groundwater is used efficiently, then the expense on surface water through closed pipelines, pumping and tanks can be reduced. It will help the PMC in maintaining financial sustainability.”

Groundwater availability could decide city’s zoning
Ram said the zoning of Pune can be done based on the availability of groundwater. “This will help when it comes to giving permissions for building construction and preparing plans for road and water supply. The civic body will have to take extra efforts for infrastructure development in the area where groundwater availability is less, while focusing on these areas for water conservation and rainwater harvesting,” he stated.

The civic body will monitor the quantity and quality of water in wells and borewells to ascertain changing trends which will be shared with citizens to encourage water conservation. “In the last few years, the rainfall pattern has changed in the context of climate change. It has become necessary to protect groundwater and effectively use it at the appropriate time.”

At present, many residential and commercial property owners use groundwater from wells and borewells to meet their daily needs due to the insufficient supply of water from the civic body in their area. The dependency on groundwater has only increased with time in the city’s residential, commercial and private institutions.

‘Survey should have been done earlier’
Civic activist Pushkar Kulkarni said the PMC should have prepared an inventory of wells and borewells in its area earlier and checked over-extraction of groundwater by citizens. “There is no data with any government body or PMC about the city’s groundwater resources. It is important to study the groundwater considering the changing situation,” he said.

Pollution of groundwater is also on the rise, and the recent outbreak of Guillain-Barré Syndrome or GBS in the city is proof that the use of polluted groundwater for domestic purposes puts citizens’ lives at risk, Kulkarni added. “If the PMC had proper data on groundwater, such incidents could have been avoided by ensuring that the water is not polluted by other means,” he said.