The groundwater table has been plummeting in parts of Hassan, worsening the drought situation. In the last five years, the groundwater table has seen significant depletion. As per studies conducted by the Directorate of Groundwater, the average static water level in the district has gone down to 15 metres against 8.47 metres which was the average in the past five years.
People in parts of Arsikere, Channarayapatna, Belur and Hassan have been over exploiting groundwater. The static water level is lower in these parts. Senior Geologist (Groundwater) G. Jayanna, here on Friday, told The Hindu, “The department has identified 87 borewells in the district as observation wells. We record the static water level in these borewells every month,” he said.
The officer made it clear that the static water level is different from water pumping level. “Water pumping level varies. We do not measure this. In parts of Arsikere taluk, water pumping level has gone as deep as 800 to 900 ft. People drill deeper to get water for their farms,” he said.
Statistics show that the situation was not so five years ago. Water was available at 150 ft deep in parts of Hassan. “Urbanisation, deforestation and a dip in rainfall are the primary reasons for depletion of groundwater levels,” said the officer. Besides these, the density of borewells has also increased over the years. “Earlier, say a farmer had five acres of land that he divided among his two sons, only one borewell would be used to get water. Now, the number increased to two. If water is not available, farmers will dig more borewells. Similarly, in urban localities, the number of borewells has also gone up,” he said.
Many residents of Hassan and those staying in villages on the outskirts of the city recall that earlier, they would not face any shortage of drinking water. “In the 1980-90s, water was sufficient and all borewells were in good condition. Now, the situation has changed drastically,” said Eshwaraiah of Vidya Nagar.
