The sub urbanization process always led to increase in water scarcity. The unscientific digging of tube wells in the fringe areas resulted in ground water levels depleting to alarming levels. It is observed from the area under study that the water level is declining with increasing spread of urbanization into the fringe areas of Kochi.
Unscientific digging of tube wells without any restriction on the depth, created conditions of the declining water levels in open wells. Some people are digging the tube wells even when enough water is available in the open well. Such a step is taken to save space in the space-starved city. This approach reduces the percolation of water into the soil during the rainy season. Scientific watershed management is thus required to maintain the ground water level at normal levels. It can be done by encouraging the digging of tube wells within the open well itself, so that water can be stored during the rainy season. Also, the digging of tube wells in areas where surface water is available in the open wells must be strictly prohibited. Scientific studies on this aspect are required to understand the gravity of the problem.
If you intend to buy an apartment in Kochi, you will now have to deal with the problem of water shortage. This problem is more pronounced in some parts of the city, even though a vast majority of the land area of Ernakulam district was water logged just a few decades ago. While the problem of water scarcity is a problem during the summer, the problem of water logging and urban flooding is becoming increasingly difficult to tackle during the rainy season.
Due to the proliferation of the apartment culture in Kochi, the apartment builders are now left to fend for themselves in meeting the water requirements of the apartment dwellers. Thus, some of these builders resort to unscientific digging of bore wells to save space and also to pump out water from deeper water sources. The truth is that such wells dry up rather quickly due to the lack of recharging options.
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