3 weeks ago
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Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has announced that a groundwater task force would be constituted within the water board. The task force will have officials from Central Groundwater Board and Karnataka Groundwater Authority, apart from scientists from Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
The task force will monitor groundwater levels in the city constantly, and for this, BWSSB will adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based advanced groundwater monitoring system, which will be spearheaded by IISc scientists on the task force, said V. Ram Prasath Manohar, Chairman, BWSSB.
This is seen as a positive development by water conservationists of the city. “As of now, BWSSB has been a mere Cauvery water supply board and what we need is a water management authority. The Board had till now not owned up groundwater as its resource. In this backdrop, constituting this task force within BWSSB is a first good step. This task force needs to be legally empowered to draw up a groundwater master plan for the city,” said water conservationist S. Vishwanath.
Monitoring system
“Presently, there is no reliable data on groundwater levels across the city. This task force aided by AI-based advanced groundwater monitoring system will monitor groundwater levels in the city constantly, collate data and this will help BWSSB to have a more targeted approach to make interventions. For instance, when we take up recharging and rejuvenation projects, it is not based on any data as there is no reliable data. But the new monitoring system will help us identify areas where the infiltration rate is more,” Mr. Manohar said.
“Scientists from IISc will lead efforts to adapt technology for the purpose. They will constantly collate data, analyse it and submit reports to the BWSSB which will help us map groundwater aquifer spatially in the city and help us make interventions,” Mr. Manohar said.
