Ground water in court

The State Government is yet to formulate a policy to tackle contamination of ground water in Bangalore and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and other authorities are yet to put in long term measures and take remedial steps to tackle the issue.

Ground water contamination has for long been the bane of Bangalore and there have been surveys by several agencies, including the State Government itself, the Department of Mines and Geology, BWSSB, CGWB, Bangalore University, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on ground water, its contamination and depletion.

The issue of contamination of ground water on Monday reached the portals of the Karnataka High Court and the first court (This is so called as it is the court of the Chief Justice) took up the issue.

A Division bench comprising the Chief Justice, D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagaratna, were hearing a suo motu petition on water contamination n Bangalore.

The Bench has ordered the State Government to convene a meeting of officials from civic agencies on the supply of potable water to 110 villages under the jurisdiction of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.
It has said that the meeting should be chaired by the Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department and that the Commissioner of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Chairman of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) should participate in the meeting.
The Bench asked the Karnataka Ground Water Authority to explore the possibility of treating ground water in 169 borewells, found to be contaminated and recharging the dried up borewells.

Besides, the State Government was directed to submit a report by next date of hearing.

The case is now likely to jog the authorities into taking remedial action. Though the water supply system of Bangalore is more than a hundred years old, problems of supply, contamination, leakage of water, quality continued to dog it.

Bangalore holds the distinction of  getting the country’s first filtered water supply scheme from Hesarghatta which was commissioned during August 1896.

It was also the first city to get piped water supply and also lay and extensive underground drainage network. When Hesarghatta proved inadequate and dried up, the Arkavathy scheme was put in place between 1933, leading to the creation of TG Halli. When this too proved  inadequate, the BWSSB went in for Cauvery water supply and it commissioned Cauvery schemes in Stage – I,II,III and Stage IV Phase I.

The City’s present drinking water supply is just over 860 million liters per day (MLD). Out of the current 860 MLD water supply to the city a lion’s share of 95 per cent is provided by the Cauvery. The BWSSB has 6.23 water supply connections.

Yet, the thirst for water remains. With sources of surface water becoming scare, the only option is ground water but latest reports highlight the deplorable condition of groundwater.

One of the many reports by the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG), Karnataka, reveals the appalling condition of groundwater in Bangalore. The study found that groundwater, which meets more than 40 per cent of the  domestic potable water needs, is rich in iron, nitrate and coliform. It is also rich in Radon and other pollutants.  

Apart from this, there are plenty of other studies and scientific papers that prove that Bangalore’s ground water is highly contaminated. There are studies that talk about depleting ground water levels and others that warn of a serious epidemic if the chemicals and pollutants are not brought under permissible limits.

Moreover, the impact of garbage, debris and landfills around Bangalore on the ground water needs sustained study.

The Environment Support Group has studied the effect of the  landfill at Mavallipura on the ground water.

It says the rainwater dripping into the landfill may contaminate major water sources of the region like the Arkavathy river and Tippagondanahalli reservoir.
 Mavallipura is located in the centre of the catchment area of Arkavathy river which leads to Tippagondanahalli (TG Halli) reservoir.

The contamination of  TG Halli reservoir will impact the city directly as parts of Bangalore such as Rajajinagar still depend on it for drinking water supply. 

As of now, ESG survey shows that residents of Mavallipura and surrounding villages like Mallappanahalli and Kurubarahalli are already affected by the contaminated water. Moreover, many diseases, including malaria and typhoid, are being regularly reported.
By the way, Mavallipura and other villages do not get Cauvery water. They depend on the well and lakes for their purposes. All these water bodies have high level of chemicals. 

Though dumping of waste has stopped, the already contaminated underground water needs to be treated and rejuvenated  The 40-lakh tonne garbage in the landfill needs to be scientifically segregated and disposed off if it is to cause no further harm.

Groundwater news at your fingertips

Anyone building a house, commercial complex or an apartment today generally goes for drilling of borewells. Though the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has made it mandatory for registration of new borewells, there is not much information except in the media and in research and scientific institutions about groundwater, its quality and other details.

Though a majority of  educated Bangaloreans are aware of the over exploitation of ground water and also the contamination, they too have limited access to such information.

Very few agencies have information on the groundwater, the water table, contamination and pother aspects. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), which comes under the Ministry of Water Resources, has come up with an information system about all these aspects.

The system not only gives information on the ground water availability but also on critically contaminated areas.

What makes the system important is that it also gives information to the public about long-term medical conditions and health hazards that contamination can cause.

The system says that 45 per cent of Bangalore's water has high nitrate content. It also says that pollution is higher in western parts of the city, where sewage is let out directly into Vrishabavathi river. It also points out that water in all industrial belts like Peenya, Rajajinagar, Hoskote and Kanakapura Road areas has high concentration of magnesium, chlorides and nitrates and all these chemicals are harmful to human beings.

The groundwater in these areas are found to be slightly alkaline, indicating high concentration of chlorides and magnesium

Besides, Bangalore and 83 other taluks of Bangalore district  has high amount of nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. Research has shown that high levels of Nitrate in potable water will cause the `Blue Baby' syndrome in infants, which alters the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

The idea behind the CGWB system was to ensure that people were given correct and accurate information that they could rely on and also educate the people about the dangers of over exploitation and contamination of water sources.

The board gas so far uploaded complete information on 22 taluks in Karnataka, including Bangalore, in the system and more will follow. The board plans to translate the information, which is now available only in English, into Kannada.

The system has been made reader friendly by including maps of  contaminated areas for every taluk and this can be easily accessed from the CGWB website.

The CGWB information states that 54 taluks have high fluoride content and 84 taluks have dangerous levels of nitrates. It lists 55 taluks as falling in the overexploited category. The situation is serious in the two districts of Kolar and Tumkur.

The CGWB says groundwater is overexploited by 190 per cent in Bangalore South, 198 per cent in Bangalore North and 206 per cent in Anekal. It classifies the whole of Bangalore as overexploited. It says the picture is disturbing in Devanahalli, Doddaballapur, Nelamangala, Bangalore East (Whitefield and adjoining areas).

Apart from the CGWB, studies by the Department of Mines and Geology, Karnataka in its “Hydrology and quality of groundwater in and around Bangalore city - Review and excerpts from the report released in March 2011”, also show high levels of chemicals in the ground water.

The Karnataka study says fluoride has been  a severe problem in many areas of  Karnataka and country but never in Bangalore But, the last few years have seen fluoride entering groundwater in Bangalore though in a small way. Most of the samples tested positive for fluoride was found at Bellandur and Bidarahalli.

The study conducted special testing for heavy metals in industrial areas.

Samples from the following areas showed high levels (much above drinking water standard) of contaminants:

Zinc: Gollahalli (Bommanahalli), Hosapalya (including CMC supply), Somasundarapalya (HSR 2nd Sector), ITI Layout (Hosapalya), Anu Polymers (Rajajinagar Industrial Town), Reshma Dyeing Factory (Rajajinagar Industrial Area)

Manganese: Peenya Industrial Area (11th Cross, 4th Phase), Hegganahalli (Srigandhanagar), Hosapalya (BBMP Nursery), Rajajinagar Industrial Town (Anu Polymers), Rajajinagar (Agrahara Dasarahalli), Old Madras Road Industrial Area (Virgonagar)

Chromium: 3rd Phase Peenya Industrial Area, Peenya 2nd Stage (Adrahalli Main Road), Peenya 2nd Stage (Andrahalli Main Road, Kaverinagar), Peenya 2nd Stage (Rajagopal Nagar), Hegganahalli (Srigandhanagar), Yelahanka New Town, Rajajinagar Industrial Town (Swadesh Industrial Supplier), Rajajinagar Industrial Town (Anu Polymers).

Former Additional Chief Secretary V Balasubramanian, has gone on record pointing out that the laboratory results of the Public Health Institute and the Department of Mines and Geology have so far indicated that  52 per cent of bore well water and 59 per cent of tap water in Bangalore is not potable. More shockingly, they contain 8.4 per cent and 19 per cent Escherichia coli (E coli) bacteria respectively.

The Department of Mines report says that only 0.9 per cent of the groundwater in Bangalore is fit for consumption.

Apart from contamination, the groundwater table has fallen to 45 meters in Mahadevapura. In HSR Layout, it is 37 meters and 26 meters in Jalahalli. It has fallen to 22 meters in Laggere (West Bengaluru). 

Bengaluru East, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South and Anekal (all in Bangalore urban district) and Devanahalli, Doddaballapur, Hoskote and Nelamangala (all in Bangalore Rural district) have all reported falling ground water tables.