Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Drastic fall in ground water levels-ToI-28.3.12


Hyderabad: There is a drastic fall in ground water levels in Greater Hyderabad in the past few months. Officials attribute the depletion in the ground water levels to decrease in the average rainfall as well as over-exploitation of ground water. While the average rainfall in Hyderabad is 719 mm, till January, the city received only 585 mm. As a result, borewells in many parts of the city have dried up even before the onset of summer. 
    The depleting ground water levels were not only recorded in the city but also in the surrounding areas. Officials said that if the situation continues like this, in the coming two months, the ground water levels in Greater Hyderabad will reach an all time low. “The average depth of groundwater in the city is 10 Metres Below Ground Level (MBGL) till February and is likely to reach the level of 10.73 in May,” K Dhananjaya, deputy director (Hyderabad) of Ground Water department, said.
 
    The Ground Water Department records the water level every month through piezometers and the depth is measured in MBGL. Based on this, geologists assess the water availability and potential of ground water.
 
    Officials said core city and surrounding areas of Greater Hyderabad have recorded a fall in the ground water level. While the highest fall in ground water level was recorded in Marredpally with 25.35 MBGL (17.03 MBGL in February 2011 and 24.55 MBGL in January 2012), other areas that have recorded a fall include, Sanjeevareddy Nagar, Nampally, and Musheerabad.
 
    Among the surrounding areas of the city, Malkajgiri records 20.4 MBGL, a fall of 9.22 metres since February 2011. In Nacharam, the water level is 11.85 MBGL which was 7.74 MBGL in February 2011. Rajendranagar records 12.70 MBGL.
 
    “This dip in groundwater level is mainly due to rain water not reaching the ground,” N Srinivas, additional director of Ground Water department, said.
 
    “The standing committee of the GHMC had resolved to make water harvesting pits functional in August 2010 but so far that has not been done. Water harvesting should be made mandatory for releasing occupancy certificates to buildings,” TDP Floor leader of GHMC Singireddy Srinivas Reddy said.

No comments:

Post a Comment