Water Body Restoration Program by United Way India

BACKGROUND

 ‘Surface water’ is any water body located above the ground, such as rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs. The sources of water for these are precipitation and water run-off. Groundwater, glaciers, and ice caps serve as crucial sources of surface water, replenishing them through springs or seasonal melting. They are often referred to as storehouses of surface water. The surface water resources for Bengaluru city are rivers and lakes. Unfortunately, they are depleting at a very rapid rate. The overarching objective of this intervention is to ensure water security, promote clean air, and foster healthy flora and fauna in the surrounding areas of the identified lakes near Electronic City.

Current Gaps at the Identified Lakes:

• The lake bund is overgrown with invasive weeds, making it inaccessible to both people and animals
• The lake bund is deteriorating due to inadequate reinforcement of the old stone pitching
• The lakebed is littered with plastic and other non-biodegradable debris
• There is a lack of organized and planned plantation efforts around the lake
• The absence of a defined walk path fails to delineate the lake boundary effectively
• Community participation is currently disorganized and insufficient

Present Challenges

Depleting groundwater and green cover

Situated amidst agricultural land, commercial orchids and private farmhouses, and yet away from the public water supply system, the main source of water in the region is groundwater. With deeply dug borewells, water is being extracted for consumption and hard rocky strata make it hard to percolate the rainwater into aquifer zones. With the steep slopes of the region, the rainwater runoff rapidly moves to erode the fertile soil.

Absence of proper embankment

Both lakes under examination lack proper embankments, leading to erosion along their banks. This unrestricted inflow and outflow from all directions introduce a significant amount of organic matter into the lakes. The degradation of this organic matter adversely affects the lake ecosystem by elevating the biological oxygen demand within the lakes.

Drying of the lake and excessive silt deposition

It can be observed from satellite images that the lake has mostly remained dry even in the monsoon. The deposition of excessive silt in the lakebed is evident from the images and is one of the reasons for the lake remaining dry throughout the year. Soil eroded from the neighboring agricultural fields might get settled in the lakebed. This results in the undulated lakebed and decreased water holding capacity of the lake.

Shallow lakebed

The lake has remained mostly dry throughout the year since the water body lacks depth. This reduces the overall volume of the lake resulting in a decrease in water holding capacity. It is evident from the satellite images that the lakebed is so shallow that it appears to be a normal piece of land in many satellite images throughout the year, except for a few small patches of water occasionally.

Organic matter inflow

Situated within a lush green landscape, the lakes are surrounded by a variety of plant species native to the region. Throughout the year, the land is abundant in organic matter, including leftover trees, bushes, dried leaves, and wooden debris. Due to the absence of raised embankments, water inflow from all directions results in the influx of large amounts of organic matter into the lakebed along with the water.

Growth of weeds

The proliferation of invasive plant species has been noted around the perimeter of the lake. This vegetation not only depletes groundwater from deep aquifers but also inhibits the growth of beneficial native species by outcompeting them. 

Hence, United Way India urges you to support our efforts. Pledge your support and donate now!

Proposed Interventions:

-       Jungle clearance of the Bund

-       Stone pitching on the lake bund and grass turfing

-       Walk path with curb stones

-       Plantation

-       Lakebed clean up

-       Community Mobilization and awareness building 

Major outputs Expected

(i) Restoration of water body

(ii) Enhancement of vegetation

(iii) Revival of eco-system with its flora and fauna

(iv) Community ownership

(v) Surface water storage upto 6 crores liters

(vi) Protection of lake from encroachments