The reliance of city residents on water tankers has increased alarmingly in recent years due to poor water supply infrastructure, unchecked concretisation and loss of green cover. With expanding civic boundaries and rapidly increasing population, the quantum of water supplied to cities has been falling short. Experts recommend that residential & commercial complexes invest in rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems.
Lunkad Greenland-2 in Vimannagar was one of the first societies to install RWH in 2003. The society needed three tankers daily at Rs. 25,000 per month before installation. After spending Rs. 48,000 on the system, they began saving on tankers within two months & replenished the groundwater table from 225ft to 10ft. Today, the society adds approximately 9 lakh litres of water per year to the groundwater table.
Gulmohar Queenstown co-operative housing society in Kharadi installed RWH in 2012 and has saved at least Rs. 50,000 per month since then. The system reduced daily tanker need by two tankers, paying off within four to six months. The civic body offers a 5% rebate to societies installing RWH systems.
Nyati Chesterfield in Undri redirected stormwater drain water to recharge a borewell and built a reservoir holding five tankers’ worth. Since installation 12 years ago, they have saved water equivalent to 200 tankers annually. An additional trench and three-tank reservoir further maximise rainwater capture.
The city’s water situation is driven by 40% transportation losses from old leaking pipes, population growth from 5 lakh in 1950 to 72 lakh in 2023, and unequal water supply forcing reliance on groundwater depletion. Low rainfall has emerged as a significant driver of the groundwater crisis, aggravated by non-technical execution of recharge schemes.
Upendra Dhonde, scientist at the Central Groundwater Board, warned that unless scientific groundwater management, sustainable recharge practices & stricter extraction regulation are implemented urgently, the coming months could prove severe. He cautioned that isolated RWH measures without scientific planning and proper maintenance may not deliver sustainable results, as recharge efforts often cannot compensate for excessive groundwater withdrawal in rapidly urbanising zones.
