The digging of a bore well that ruptured a water tunnel in Malad last week has set off a discussion on whether it is prudent to dig new bore wells instead of managing the existing conventional wells better.
There is a concern that unplanned digging of bore wells could seriously disturb the water table balance, leading to seawater intrusion.
After Mumbai experienced water scarcity in 2009, there has been much interest in digging bore wells, particularly in housing societies, to augment supply.
In these four years, the civic authority has given permission for about 600 bore wells and some ring wells. This compares with 1,572 conventional wells, many of which are privately owned.
“Citizens should consider the traditional approach and use existing wells, rather than digging bore wells everywhere. The civic body should help people to desilt the wells during the summer and recharge them during the monsoon,” said Dilip Patel, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party corporators in the civic body.
Patel added that this would ensure that residents in the area near the well would have sufficient water for washing through the year. He said that he would move a proposal on this at the general body meeting of the civic body.
Former mayor Shubha Raul had encouraged people to maintain the conventional wells that have been neglected and abandoned. Cleaning these wells is a costly affair, which is probably why the campaign hasn’t picked up.
A senior civic official agreed that indiscriminate digging of bore wells could drain groundwater sources in the long run. “If everyone starts digging bore wells without paying attention to recharging groundwater capacity, it would deplete the water table and lead to seawater intrusion,” the official from the water department explained. “The bore well option must be used judiciously.”
The official also pointed out to a state circular limiting the depth of bore wells to 200 ft. Digging wells to beyond this depth poses the threat of damage to numerous utilities that run underground.
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