Suddenly, borewells in city have begun to overflow

Several business establishments and houses along a stretch from Akshay Bhandar to K G Koppal in the city, have been grappling a watery mess.

 Borwells sunk in the basements or surroundings of these buildings have been overflowing during the past ten days, and they have not been able to plug the leaks.
 While locals attribute it to “sudden ground water recharge”, officials at Department of Ground Water suspect that the “temporary seepage problem” was due to faulty works taken up by Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW) and Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board in the region during the month of October 2013.

Among the business establishments where the problem has been spotted include the Cesc administrative office, a complex housing an electronics showroom, Adishwar, Srishti polyclinic, and Bombay Tiffany’s store.

Mohan Kumar Badana, manager of Adishwar showroom said that water started overflowing from the borewell around ten days ago and flooded the basement of the complex. 

“After the incident we have been forced to use a motor to pump the water away from the basement,” he said. He added that water would fill the sump and continue to flood the basement if the motor was not operational.

Kiran B S, Manager of Srishti Polyclinic, who attributed it to “sudden ground water recharge” following the recent showers, said that water has been flowing from the borewell continuously during the period.

Water-logged area

Speaking to Deccan Herald, K V R Chowdhry, Geologist, Department of Ground Water said that the problem was spotted in a ‘water-logged area’. He suspected that there was a leakage in a recently installed underground pipeline, which seeped the water into the borewells, resulting in an overflow. 

“During October last year, the surrounding area was dug to install the pipeline. Since, the ground has not set properly around the pipe, water might have accumulated in the gaps, resulting in the seepage,” he said.

Lokesh K S, Chairman, Department of Environmental Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, dismissing the possibility of ground water overflowing from the borewells, also suspected that a leakage in a main water line in the area might have caused the problem.

“It is highly impossible for groundwater to gush outside spontaneously,” he said.Rajgopal S S, Executive Engineer of VVWW, denied that the problem was due to leakage of a main water line. “Since, Kabini water supply was introduced in the city, exploitation of ground water has declined, helping aquifers to rejuvenate.

Owing to this, water has been gushing out of the borewells situated in low lying areas,” he said.

He added that similar phenomenon was also observed in parts of Ashokapuram and Ramakrishna Nagar. “We had inspected some borewells recently. The water is not drain water,” he added.