Karnataka

The Water Resources Department of Karnataka has a lot of relevant information on the river systems in Karnataka, irrigation, water resource development projects in Karnataka, notifications and orders, performance budgeting and allocation.

The survey was done using a closed-ended questionnaire which was administered to key stakeholders including teachers, school children and sometimes the SDMC (School Development and Management Committee) members. All government and aided schools were included in the survey. 

It deals with the (a) inequities in sectoral distribution and inadequacy in availability of water (b)  inefficiency in use of water in domestic and agricultural sector (c) depleting ground water resource (d) inadequate treatment of watersheds (e) deteriorating surface and groundwater quality (f) degradation of traditional and community owned tanks and (g) siltation in river basins and command a

The aim of this report is to highlight the quality problems encountered in the groundwater in the state. The chemical parameters which are present in groundwater in excess of the prescribed norms and which are considered harmful beyond permissible limits are discussed in detail.

The study collected 918 samples from 735 locations across an area of 400 square kilometers of the city and its environs. The samples were collected in March and April of 2003. Testing was done for 25 parameters. The results indicate that -

Here's a list of resources relating to the water survey conducted in the city of Bangalore

The Sachetana Drinking Water project of the Government of Karnataka covers 15 villages in each of the taluks of Bagepalli (Chikkaballapur), Mundargi (Gadag), Sira (Tumkur) and Pavagada (Tumkur).

The baseline survey covers a representative portion of the villages and families of the above and contains the following information:

The taluka-level GIS database for Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, is a CD containing a GIS (Geographical Information System) database of the spread of and expenditure on watershed development programmes in 3 states of India, viz., Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

A visual directory of some rainwater harvesting installations in Bangalore is attached below. There are links to descriptions and photos of many of the structures. You are welcome to submit more entries to this map, and start similar maps for other cities in the country.

The conference was held in Bangalore on 30th June 2009 at the ITC Windsor. With cities expanding, the need for drinking water is exponentially increasing. The municipal systems are stressed to breaking limits and more and more people are turning to bottled water. And this is the case not only in urban but in rural areas as well. Today, the bottled water industry is at 1000 crores and is visualised to expand more! In this context the Confederation of Indian Industries organised a seminar on the Packaged Water Industry on 30th June, 2009 to discuss the scope of the market, the standards of quality and the methods of disposing the waste produced due to the industry. The source for most of the drinking water in our country remains ground water. This contributes to 80% of drinking water in rural areas and 50% in urban areas. However, claimed Mr. T.M. Hunse, Regional Director of the Central Ground Water Board, the excessive usage of Groundwater is the direct cause of dry wells and the depleting levels of groundwater in the country. However, the need for bottled water cannot be denied. Despite conflicts between communities and bottled water plants, many of the country’s poor are at the mercy of the municipal supplies which are erratic and unreliable, he said. Bottled water provides an alternative way to access clean and healthy water. At the same time, it absolves the government of its duty and ends up leaving farmers high and dry. He placed full responsibility on the bottled water plants to ensure people safe water (especially when the groundwater is polluted) and work towards conscientiously using the existing groundwater supply in an egalitarian manner.