Bengaluru, "The silicon valley of India" in water stress?

First published on August 11, 2018

According to a report published by BBC in February 2018, Bengaluru is top among the 11 cities that would face water scarcity very soon. Water supply for the city of Bangalore in India is always short against the total demand. Surface water is inadequate to meet the demand and the city has to depend on groundwater. Due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of rainwater into the subsoil has decreased drastically and recharging of groundwater has diminished surface water is inadequate to meet the demand and the city has to depend on groundwater ¹. This has led to the depletion in the quality and quantity of groundwater. If this practice is left unmonitored, the city will soon face severe water scarcity.

Although the damage is irreversible, monitoring the usage of groundwater and controlling its exploitation would solve the issue to a great extent. Bengaluru receives an annual rainfall of 859 mm, which is sufficient for the recharge of the aquifer with proper rainwater harvesting methods. Government and policymakers should put an effort to identify the sites where groundwater is exploited beyond limits and should also encourage rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling methods. Identifying depleted groundwater zones would be tedious and time taking if done manually. Hence satellite remote sensing can be used to identify these zones in near real time.

Satyukt analytics Pvt Ltd expertise in using applications of microwave remote sensing in the field of Hydrology and water resources, is capable of mapping groundwater levels across the city and hence can help to identify the places where overuse of groundwater is practised.