Campaign for a million wells in Bengaluru, India
- 1. Campaign for a Million Wells in Bengaluru, India Biome Environmental Trust
- 2. Organisational policy for protection of environment 2 We ideate, incubate and catalyse uptake of ideas that contribute to and strengthen: ● Ecological ● Sustainable ● Environmentally and socially just Water and Land-use Change & Management In doing so, in our processes we strive to ● Achieve financial / economic sustainability ● Co-create value with all stakeholders, ● Open-source relevant knowledge
- 3. Our Thesis Wells were historically the lifeline of Bengaluru and can be a significant source of water for contemporary Bengaluru too. Hence it is important to take care of the shallow aquifer Clean rooftop catchments connected directly to recharge wells enable revival of the shallow aquifer This will help increase the recharge rate from the current 3-8% This will also help in flood management This will enhance livelihoods of well diggers Everybody should understand and act on this
- 4. ‘Million Wells for Bengaluru’ campaign Inspires behaviour change in people People revive and dig wells Actionable tech info and support Supports well diggers’ and other livelihoods Shallow aquifer revives and provides water for use to the city at lower energy costs Helps in flood and seepage management Campaign design
- 6. Project intervention (including duration of programme, details on geographic area, communities involved, activities undertaken) 6 • The official start date / launch of Million Wells campaign is July 2015 (BIOME has been working on rainwater harvesting for a longer period of time) • Ongoing campaign • Geographical location: Bengaluru which uses around 700 MLD of groundwater, and naturally recharges only 100 MLD. Magnitude of groundwater use = piped water used in Bengaluru. Officially groundwater never considered for source planning. Objectives: a. to revive the shallow aquifer in people’s minds and as a significant source of water for the city b. providing livelihoods to the traditional community of well diggers • Stakeholders/Key partners: Well diggers, All inhabitants of the city, strategic partners like ACWADAM, Friends of Lakes, Funding organizations and finally governance institutions
- 7. 7 ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN ● Multi dimensional campaign to create awareness and inspire action towards digging recharge wells, reviving old open wells , using open well water, monitoring water in open/recharge wells and sharing stories of open/recharge wells ○ Events and Workshops for citizens and citizen groups ○ Articles in print, social and multimedia ○ Information portal : http://bengaluru.urbanwaters.in/ ● Strategic partnerships with artists and storytellers to spread the message ● Technical facilitation of demonstration projects ● Training and capacity building ○ well diggers ○ architects, engineers, real estate developers ○ Government officials ● Strategic partnership with scientific/academic institutions for monitoring and evolving policy formulations
- 8. 8 • Digging new recharge wells • Reviving old open Wells
- 9. 9 • Well mapping • Citizen awareness sessions • TEDxBangalore talk • World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden
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- 11. 11 Project Impacts: Environmental Increasing ground water tables, improved water quality and reduced flooding
- 12. Rainbow Drive Layout, Sarjapura road, Bengaluru • Total area: 36 acres • Year 2008: 10 recharge wells, borewells drying • Year 2015: 300+ recharge wells, water at 360 ft from the ground level in one of the borewells and yields 1 lakh litres daily 12 Project Impacts: Environmental Increasing ground water tables, improved water quality and reduced flooding
- 13. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) ● Total campus area- ~100 acres ● Installed - 2010 onwards ● 57 recharge wells so far ● Over the last 8 years, five borewells out of 14 which had dried up have been rejuvenated and are yielding water 13 https://blog.iimb.ac.in/green-and-clean-the-iimb-campus-adopts-sustainability/ Project Impacts: Environmental
- 14. Cubbon Park, Bengaluru • Total campus area- ~ 200 acres • Earlier water purchased from BWSSB • 4 rainwater ponds revived • 73 recharge wells dug • 7 open wells revived - provide 2 lakh litres per day • Water is pumped out to irrigate the park 14 Project Impacts: Environmental
- 16. • Low TDS compared to deep aquifer water (Can avoid RO, softener - water treatment) • Easier to monitor, treat and use • Susceptible to contamination due to local anthropogenic activities and therefore can drive best practices • Recharge helps in improving shallow aquifer quality Technical Study: Water Quality
- 17. ● Sewage contamination is avoided by connecting clean catchments (rooftops, roads in gated communities and public parks) directly to recharge wells without letting the water go into the SWD first ● Recharge wells in storm water drains with extremely low probability of contamination 17 Water Quality and Precautions
- 18. 18 Project Impacts: Environmental Increasing ground water tables, improved water quality and reduced flooding
- 20. Direct Impact: • Digging and maintenance of about 2 lakh wells has generated revenues of about (2,00,000 well at Rs 40,000/- each) Rs. 800 crores for the well diggers and ring makers • The city currently spends on average Rs 95/KL i.e. for every thousand litres of water it pumps from the river. The utility subsidizes domestic water consumption heavily. Even the deepest groundwater in Bengaluru costs around Rs 10/KL. Shallow groundwater from open-wells is the cheapest typically costing less than Rs 2/KL. Indirect Impact: • Reduced costs of flooding for the city. The costs of urban flooding are many: time and fuel costs from traffic snarls, road & storm water drain maintenance and repairs, and the larger public health costs that floods bring with it. Project Impacts: Economic 20
- 21. Project Impacts • Increased recharge • Increased utilisation of shallow aquifer • Increased livelihood opportunities for well diggers 21
- 22. Sustainability of the project: Financial and Institutional 22 ● Campaign - created champions ● Leveraging of pvt monies for investment ● Existing entrepreneurial energy from well-diggers ● ●
- 23. Unique five points on the approach, activity and outcome ● Creating champions - citizens/institutions ● Campaign mode + modes of communication ● Well diggers’ entrepreneurial energy ● Recharge well as a modular tool ● Influencing policy
- 24. THANK YOU 24
- 25. New Rainwater Harvesting bye-law Karnataka 2020 • For every plot create recharge or storage @ 60 litres per square metre of roof area @ 30 litres per square metre of paved area • Water metering mandatory 25