Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Revival of borewells gets a boost

Hyderabad: It is ‘back to bore’ programme. And it is catching up with the residents.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (HMWSSB) efforts to conserve rainwater and send it back into the bores has picked up momentum.

A large number of residents’ welfare associations have come forward to convert their dead borewells into water storage pits. All along, one has been drawing water from the bore and now it is time to give water to the bore. The down-to-earth idea is simple and effective. Dead borewells in apartment complexes are being targeted.

A one-metre pit is dug around the bore and holes drilled into it for water to seep in. Then, a layer of 40-mm stones is laid and on it a layer of 2 mm stones and finally a bed of sand to act as filter. The bore is now ready to receive water and take it to a depth of 200 feet and more.

Several apartment complexes in S.R. Nagar, Srinagar colony, Narayanguda, Kukatpally and Secunderabad have adopted this idea to recharge their groundwater table. The Board has identified 250 bores in the twin cities which can be suitably converted to receive rainwater.

The traditional rainwater harvesting pit has its own limitations and can’t absorb all the rainwater. On the contrary, dried up bores drilled up to a depth of 200 to 300 feet, can do wonders with a little touch up. “We are tapping their readily available conduit to take water right up to the aquifer and they can absorb any amount of water,” says G. Asok Kumar, Managing Director, HMWSSB.

The Board has also embarked upon reviving its own defunct bores on roads. At Srinagar Colony park and Yellareddyguda, dead borewells are capped and converted into rain harvesting pits. All the rain water flowing on the road will now simply sink in increasing the ground water table for the neighbourhood. “The other advantage is that there will be no water logging and roads will not be damaged,” Mr. Kumar said.

Residents of Venkateshwar Residency in Srinagar Colony are quite happy with the new experiment. They have laid a pipe connecting the rainwater sprout to the bore. The Swagruha apartment in Kukkatpally has also done the same thing. “Not a drop is wasted and the entire water from the terrace is going into the earth,” said Gopal Rao, a resident.

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