Bengaluru Water Crisis and Climate Change
An acute drinking water crisis in Bengaluru has been creating international headlines for the past few weeks. Bengaluru was facing a shortage of 500 million liters of water every day, which is about a fifth of the city’s daily total demand. Bengaluru’s water crisis stems from a combination of factors, including over-extraction of groundwater, limited recharge rates, and dependence on distant water sources like the Cauvery River.
Bengaluru’s temperature trend has shown a continuous increase in the last 42 years and has risen more frequently in the last 20 years. Warmer temperatures can lead to higher water bodies and soil evaporation rates, exacerbating water scarcity. The city’s residents have been grappling with disrupted water supplies, exorbitant tanker prices, and experiencing 80% inflation in pricing.
Bangalore must embrace a holistic approach to water conservation. This entails not only addressing consumption patterns at the household level but also implementing large-scale initiatives to replenish and protect the city’s water resources. Investing in water-efficient equipment, technologies that reduce water consumption, installing low-flow fixtures, water-recycling systems, and closed-loop cooling systems to save water. These ideas can significantly minimize water usage while maintaining operational efficiency.
Reusing, recycling, or reclaiming water preserves our water resources and drinking water supplies. The less we use now, the more we will have available in the future. Think of it as a savings account; we all know that savings are beneficial and essential for our future well-being.