Groundwater is increasingly dirty dirty

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is facing the threat of groundwater degradation beyond recoverable level, warn Indian researchers of a German University.
A team of four researchers from the department of engineering geology and hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University has taken up studies on the scarcity of water in the mega cities in India. Hyderabad is one of the cities selected for research thanks to its rapid urbanisation and heavy pressure on water resources.
“Considering the limited potential of hard rock aquifers, reduced recharge and the fact that the resource is being tapped from deeper depths, there is a possibility of degradation of groundwater resources beyond recoverable level in future due to rapid urbanisation in Hyderabad,” warns rese-archer Hemant Wakode.
“Although groundwater is not easily contaminated, once this occurs it is difficult find a remedy, and in a developing country like India, such remediation may prove impossible,” he points out in the university's blog, “Water and Megacities”.
The emerging scarcity of water has also raised a host of issues related to sustainability of economic development, sufficient water supply, equity and social justice, water finan-cing, pricing, governance and management, he said. The per capita consumption of water in the twin cities is 96.2 litres per day as against the 200 litres recommended by the WHO.
About 11 per cent of the households in Hyderabad are already dependent on tanker water. Out of this, 46 per cent are dependent on private tankers. Non-implementation of environmental laws and haphazard  city growth are the prime reasons behind the looming crisis.
Groundwater is under threat both by contamination and by inappropriate use. It is observed that in general the depth to water levels ranged between 5 and 20 metres but on an average it is around 12 m. The general depth to water level during pre-monsoon period varies from 5 m to 20 m bgl.