How to secure your water future as concerns escalate

Pune: The reliance of city residents on water tankers has increased alarmingly in recent years, with blame falling squarely on the poor water supply infrastructure of civic authorities. Reports of absent, insufficient or even contaminated water supply have become a regular affair.Citizens also pointed out that unchecked concretisation and rampant loss of green cover in the city are major factors that have impacted the water grid. Meanwhile, civic officials have time and again highlighted that with expanding civic boundaries and a rapidly increasing population, the quantum of water supplied to the city has been falling short, with repeated demands made to the irrigation department for enhancement that have not yet borne fruit. What remains in our hands for better water security in coming years, say experts, is for residential and commercial complexes to invest in systems like rainwater harvesting (RWH). Early movers reap years of benefits and save crores of rupees on water tankers One of the first societies in the city to install a rainwater harvesting system back in 2003 was Lunkad Greenland-2 in Vimannagar. A resident of this society, Col Shashikant Dalvi (retired), was stationed across Rajasthan while serving in the army, when he noticed how the houses there always had water despite being in an arid region. "On one such visit, I spoke to some locals and learned that they were practicing rainwater harvesting for generations. Twenty-three years ago, my society needed at least three tankers daily, and we spent Rs25,000 per month procuring them. I spent some time in the library, read up on how RWH can be executed, and decided to convince my society to get the system installed," Dalvi told TOI. "Fortunately, everyone was on board. We spent Rs48,000 and got the system installed that year. In two months, we started saving on tankers and were also able to help replenish the groundwater table, from where we can draw water if needed. When we got it checked, we found that the table level was initially 225ft in 2003 — now it is at barely 10ft. This is the benefit of RWH. It is also a way to give back to nature," Dalvi added. Today, this society alone is able to add approximately 9lakh litres of water per year to the groundwater table. Another early adopter of the system was Gulmohar Queenstown co-operative housing society in Kharadi. They installed the RWH system over in 2012 and have managed to save at least Rs50,000 per month since then, said residents. "We experienced drastic improvement in our groundwater table, gauged via pressure and pumping checks. We still need tankers because of shoddy civic supply, but the RWH system reduced our daily need by two tankers at least. It took about Rs50,000 to get the set-up for one wing, and Rs1.5 lakh in total for three wings. Within four to six months, it paid off by recharging the borewell enough," recounted society chairman Deepak Patil. As the chairperson of the Kharadi Housing Societies Welfare Association (KHSWA), Patil is also encouraging other societies in the neighbourhood to install the system, so that the water situation across the area improves. "The civic body also offers a 5% rebate to societies that install RWH systems. Everyone should reap the benefits of this, not to mention the good it does for the environment," Patil added. Faulty civic infra forces residents to take action There are many reasons for the city's dire water situation today, said Col Shashikant Dalvi (retired). "There are about 40% transportation losses of water because of old leaking pipes and lack of a replacement policy. The city's population has risen from 5 lakh in 1950 to 72 lakh in 2023 as per reports, putting pressure on available natural resources. Unequal water supply forces citizens to depend on groundwater, resulting in rapid depletion of the groundwater table, among other things," said Dalvi, who runs a company that helps societies install RWH systems. In addition to urban spaces, Dalvi's company has also helped over six lakh villagers across Maharashtra reap the benefits of this system through funds accumulated via corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. While civic authorities fail miserably in their responsibilities, many societies are taking it upon themselves to make infrastructure tweaks. Nyati Chesterfield in Undri is one example. "All the water going into our stormwater drains was getting wasted as it would just get dumped outside the society," explained Sunil Aiyer, a resident here, adding, "Around 12 years ago, we decided to install the RWH system so that water from stormwater drains was redirected to recharge a borewell, which was at a depth of 425ft. Some remaining flow went to a reservoir built to hold water equal to five tankers. Since our society is on a hill, being dependent solely on the monsoon to recharge the borewell is not possible. While we don't have exact figures, since then, we have managed to save water that could fill as many as 200 tankers every year." Relying on this success, the society has now created a trench in front of their main gate — where there were no drains initially — allowing for water to simply flow into the ground. The aim is to maximize capturing of rainwater into the ground table. An additional reservoir of three tanks has been built to further savings on tanker purchases. "RWH is an environment-friendly investment to tap lost water and recharge the water table, which is depleting year on year. All societies should undertake this project to be self-sufficient. Developers should be environmentally conscious and do their bit, too," Aiyer pointed out. Unchecked construction leaves few viable options Low rainfall has emerged as one of the most significant drivers of the growing groundwater crisis in the country and world, not just in Pune, according to experts. The situation is aggravated by the non-technical execution of groundwater recharge schemes, particularly in regions witnessing deficient rainfall and possessing geological formations that are inherently unsuitable for effective recharge. "Over the past few years, Pune has become increasingly dependent on groundwater resources, especially in peri-urban areas where a reliable surface water distribution network remains absent. As groundwater levels continue to decline, most large housing societies have been compelled to rely heavily on private water tankers, spending lakhs of rupees every month merely to secure basic water supply," said Upendra Dhonde, scientist D and head of office at the Central Groundwater Board (CGWB), state unit office, Pune. "With indications of a challenging rainy season ahead in an El Niño year, concerns over water availability are steadily intensifying. Unless scientific groundwater management, sustainable recharge practices, and stricter regulation of extraction are implemented urgently, the coming months could prove to be a severe test for both the administration and citizens alike," he warned. "We are determined to have the RWH system installed before this year's summer ends. It has been in the pipeline for two years, but could not be done because of one reason or the other. Some of us attended an awareness session two years ago and have wanted to implement the system since. We currently rely on a borewell, but the water supply is reducing every year by at least 15-20%. Even PMC's supply is dwindling, which is worrying," said Abhijeet Shrotre, a resident of Bella Vista in Bavdhan. "The growing number of constructions is only going to make this situation more dire in the years to come. We need to put systems in place immediately to avoid suffering later. We spend about Rs10,000-15,000 on tankers every month and we want to avoid this cost. We are doing everything else like putting aerators on taps in each house to balance flow, but it's not enough. Every society needs to install a RWH system to cater to future requirements," the IT professional added. RESIDENTS SPEAK We installed the RWH system in two phases: the first eight to nine years ago and the second six years ago. Availability of water has definitely improved but I cannot say with surety that it is just because of the RWH system. We just leave the water into the ground as we have no separate storage space. As whatever rainwater our system collects is used to replenish groundwater, it is also probably used by societies in the area. Our society is on a slope, and all our neighbouring buildings have had no water issues since we installed our system. But also, PCMC's supply has improved slightly over the years — Abhijit Parkhi | IT professional and resident of Kunal Icon society, Pimple Saudagar We installed the RWH system in 2011-12 as we realised it was the only way to reduce the dependence of our 16 buildings and 401 flats on tankers. We changed our water distribution system and dug borewells as well. Two borewells gave us 24x7 water, and one for a few hours. Eventually, PMC laid lines and we got some supply from there, too. The RWH system allowed us to not be dependent on tankers and even helped societies in the neighbourhood as it increases overall groundwater levels — Dilip Ranade | Retired colonel and resident of Nyati Estate, Undri EXPERT SAYS ‘Isolated measures may not deliver sustainable results' Although RWH initiatives have been implemented in several areas, isolated measures without scientific planning, proper maintenance and regulation of groundwater extraction may not deliver sustainable results. In many cases, recharge efforts are unable to compensate for the excessive withdrawal of groundwater taking place across rapidly urbanising zones. The coming months will highlight the underlying urgent need for scientific water management, efficient urban planning, and long-term groundwater conservation measures — Upendra Dhonde | Scientist D and head of office, Central Groundwater Board (CGWB), state unit office, Pune