Parks that retain 54 crore liters of rainwater

 26 crore liters of rainwater is being retained in BBMP; Percolation wells to be constructed in 1,500 parks by year-end

Parks that retain 54 crore liters of rainwater

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

Bengaluru: BBMP, which has focused more on retaining rainwater and increasing groundwater, is further accelerating the work of Percolation of rainwater in parks. It has set a target of diverting 54 crore liters of rainwater from 26 crore liters by the end of this year.

BBMP had started the project to retain rainwater through Percolation wells in 2020 itself. ‘United Way Bangalore’ has implemented this project in the parks of the corporation through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Due to the construction of Percolation wells in parks, groundwater is increasing not only in the park but also in a two-km radius around it. The water level in borewells is increasing. The full benefits of the cisterns will be visible to everyone within three years of their construction.

Bengaluru receives an average of 970 millimeters of rainfall per year. 59 days are considered rainy days, of which each Percolation wells is fully filled for at least 30 days. The BBMP's horticulture department aims to trap and divert more rainwater if more Percolation wells are built.

BBMP has started the work of constructing Percolation wells in parks to divert rainwater since 2020. Initially, only a few hundred were built. The Percolation wells built then are now providing great benefits to the surrounding area. The project to construct cisterns has been accelerated from 2024.

‘The Percolation wells were constructed three years ago in ‘Forest Park’ in HBR Layout. At that time, the local residents expressed their concern that they were digging a hole in the park and destroying it. However, today they are all expressing happiness. There is always water in the borewell in the park. Not only that, the water level in the borewells of the residents in all four directions is also at the top. When they all come and congratulate us, our efforts feel worthwhile,” said Chandrashekhar, Deputy Director of the BBMP Horticulture Department, expressing happiness.

There are 1280 parks under the BBMP jurisdiction. It is not possible to build Percolation wells in all the parks. In a park that is at least half an acre in size, Percolation wells are built after examining the rainwater flow area and the drainage area. About 450 parks under the corporation jurisdiction will have cisterns by the end of the year. He informed that the BBMP has the objective of retaining as much rainwater as possible. 

‘A goal of storing 100 crore liters’

‘We are working through an NGO called ‘United Way of Bangalore’ to increase groundwater by storing rainwater in the city. We aim to bring a billion litres of water to Bengaluru through the ‘One Billion Drops’ project,” said Rajesh Krishnan, CEO of United Way of Bengaluru.

“We are collecting CSR funds from many corporates and constructing Percolation wells in the city’s parks. BBMP has approved our project and we are constructing Percolation wells in the parks where they have given permission. This work has gained momentum in the last year,” he said.

More water in the septic tanks of the parks

“The construction of cisterns in the parks of BBMP has increased the water in our borewells. In addition to increasing the groundwater level, the large trees and plants in the parks are getting the necessary moisture,” said Chandrashekhar, Deputy Director of Horticulture, BBMP.

‘The aim is to collect rainwater in the gardens and use it for the plants in the gardens. Since this is not possible in small gardens, our aim is to collect lakhs of litres of rainwater in large gardens. Since it is a CSR activity, there will be no financial burden on the corporation,’ he said.

• 2,607 Percolation wells; There are 178 gardens of BBMP
• 1,28,100 litres of water; Rainwater collected in the Percolation well per year
• 26,47,82,700 litres of water; Rainwater collected in 178 gardens per year
• 1,632 Percolation wells; Target to be constructed by the end of December 2025
• 54,30,15,900 litres of water; Rainwater collected in the Percolation wells next year

How many Percolation wells are there in which zone?

Zone; Garden; Pond

Yalahanka;51;356

South;32;884

East;10;137

East;1;33

Dasarahalli;12;75

Mahadevapura;9;123

Bommanahalli;58;849

Rajarajeshwari Nagar;5;150

1,632 Percolation wells; Target to be constructed by December 2025

370; South Zone

500; R.R. Nagar Zone

320; West Zone

153; Yelahanka Zone

309; East Zone

Percolation wells Information

4 feet; Perimeter of Percolation well

12 feet; Depth of Percolation well

4,270 liters; Capacity to hold rainwater at one time

1.28 lakh liters; A Percolation well absorbs rainwater at least 30 times a year

₹37 thousand; Cost of building a Percolation well