Community in Bengaluru Turns Dump Site into Daily Water Source

In the Sampanghiram Nagar area of Bengaluru, near a small temple alley, there is a round stone well covered by a metal grate. Several years ago, most passersby ignored it, and some tried to avoid it. The surface was covered with plastic waste, and the bottom contained concrete debris and silt. Tree branches hung over the opening, dropping leaves and trash into the water. The stone walls were cracked in places, and weeds grew through the gaps, which widened due to years of neglect.

The Well Became a Lifeline

For many residents, the well long ceased to be perceived as a water resource and turned into a dump. However, today this same well attracts people daily. Residents come with metal pots and plastic buckets to fill an upper reservoir connected to public taps. Families use this water for daily needs throughout the day, and small local eateries use it for cleaning. On days when municipal water supply is unstable, the well becomes a reliable source.

Significance for a Growing City

Even in hot months, the well continued to hold water. For a city where many families now plan their day based on tanker schedules, dry borewell operations, and unpredictable water supply, this change is significant. The return of a forgotten well to a useful state may seem like a minor local story, but in Bengaluru, it points to a broader potential: old water systems can help a growing city cope with the current water crisis.

Wider Movement Across Bengaluru

The well in Sampanghiram Nagar is an example of broader efforts across Bengaluru. Resident welfare associations, civic groups, and environmental organizations are restoring traditional wells that have gradually disappeared from collective memory amid the spread of borewells and piped water systems.

How Water Went Underground

Over decades, the history of Bengaluru's water supply slowly moved underground. As the city grew, borewells began to displace open wells in homes, schools, residential complexes, and public areas. What was once visible to everyone—a well in the yard, near a temple, or in a neighborhood—gradually disappeared behind pipes, pumps, and motors.

Difference Between Systems

Deep drilling provided access to groundwater far beneath the surface, which seemed convenient. But this changed people's understanding of water. With an open well, the water level is visible: after a good rain, people see it rise, and in dry months, they see it fall. The well reminds the neighborhood that groundwater depends on rain, soil, and replenishment. A borewell does the opposite: it hides the water level deep underground. For years, you can continue pumping water without seeing how much is left, and the warning comes late, often only when the motor starts drawing air instead of water, by which time the crisis has reached people's homes.

Well Restoration

Open wells work with a shallower layer of groundwater. When rainwater seeps into the soil and filters down, it helps replenish this layer over time. Therefore, a functioning open well can show the neighborhood what is happening beneath its feet. When such wells are cleaned, repaired, protected from sewage runoff, and connected to rainwater harvesting systems, they become useful again. They can serve as local sources during shortages and help replenish groundwater in the area.

Restoration Process in 2022

The restoration of the well in Sampanghiram Nagar, completed in 2022, began with a complex cleaning operation. This work was carried out by SayTrees Environmental Trust, an environmental non-profit organization based in Bengaluru and founded in 2007 by Kapil Sharma and Leet Captain Deokant Payasi. The project was implemented with support from CSR corporate funding and is maintained through a partnership between SayTrees, local residents, and civic authorities to ensure the well's cleanliness and functionality.

Cleaning and Repair Details

The community well is seven feet wide and forty feet deep. By the time the restoration work began, it had accumulated years of garbage, construction debris, silt, and organic waste. First, the water had to be completely pumped out using motors before workers could reach the bottom. Early stage photos demonstrate the degree of disrepair: trash was pressed against the stone walls, weeds grew through cracks, and dark, contaminated water mixed with floating debris stood inside. The cleaning was slow, physical labor. Workers used manual labor and cranes to remove layers of grime nearly forty feet underground. Extracted silt and garbage were piled up nearby for several days to dry, and then tractors transported them for disposal. The well structure also required attention: the stone walls needed repair. The old grate cover allowed leaves and trash from the tree canopy to constantly fall inside. The restoration team lifted the cover and added an inclined canopy to prevent fresh waste from accumulating in the water. After this, the water was treated using alabaster, potassium permanganate, and calcium before the well was reconnected for public use.

Results and Resident Feedback

Today, the restored well has a capacity of over 43,000 liters. According to the project, more than 1,000 liters are used daily through the public tap. For local residents, this change is felt not so much in numbers as in daily relief. Srinivas, a resident who has lived in the area for 40 years and owns a shop here, noted that since they do not receive regular water supply from the corporation, the community largely depends on local water sources. He emphasized that the recent cleaning and restoration of the well brought immense benefit, improving water accessibility for residents and local businesses, including hotels and eateries.

Emotional Connection to Rainwater

Across Bengaluru, tankers have become part of daily life. In many areas, summer brings a familiar routine: waiting for tanker deliveries, carefully storing water, and worrying about the next arrival. Residential complexes often spend hundreds of thousands of rupees monthly on purchasing water delivered from peri-urbanized and rural areas around the city. This water also places a burden outside the city, as tankers heavily rely on groundwater extraction in surrounding villages, shifting water stress from urban consumers to rural aquifers. Diesel transport adds another environmental cost.

Community and Climate

Restored open wells support the city's formal water infrastructure, reducing the load on it. Several such wells across Bengaluru are used for gardening, construction work, cleaning, and filtered domestic use during shortages. Every functioning well provides the neighborhood with another local source, especially during peak summer months. This shift is practical but also emotional. A volunteer involved in urban well restoration projects notes that 'tanker water shapes consumption mindset. Water arrives as a commodity. People don't see where it comes from.' The open well restores this connection: residents can see the water level, notice changes after rain, and understand the importance of replenishment.

SayTrees' Large-Scale Programs

Work around open wells is also becoming part of a larger climate change response. SayTrees expands water conservation programs across India by restoring lakes and reviving traditional water systems. To date, the organization has restored over 50 lakes and water bodies and revived more than 30 traditional open wells, creating a total storage capacity of over 5 billion liters. For Bengaluru, this is critically important as the city faces two types of water stress simultaneously: flooding during heavy rains and scarcity in summer. Traditional systems can help both aspects by retaining water, aiding replenishment, reducing surface runoff, and helping the soil retain moisture.

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July 8, 16:32

Drainage restoration in Bangalore turned a 12-kilometer canal into a green corridor for flood control

Bangalore faces a paradox: the city may experience water shortages in April, but flooding problems by September. However, long before the appearance of cisterns, pipelines, and pumping stations, the city possessed its own method for solving these issues.

Historical Water Management System

Over five hundred years ago, a complex interconnected network of stormwater canals, known as Rajakaluves, was created, connecting lakes across the landscape. During heavy rains, excess water naturally flowed from one lake to another, preventing street flooding. In drier months, the same system helped replenish groundwater and accumulate future water reserves.

One surviving section of this historical network is the K100 waterway. This canal, which previously served as an open drain carrying about 130 million liters of untreated sewage daily, has been restored into a thriving public corridor. Now people walk here, birds have returned, and rainwater can flow freely again.

Revival of a Rain-Based System

The restoration of K100 is not just cleaning up an abandoned canal; it is reviving a centuries-old water management system that allowed Bangalore to thrive without a major river. Long before water was pumped from the Cauvery, Bangalore relied almost entirely on rainfall. In the 16th century, the city's founder, Kempe Gowda, developed a network of interconnected Rajakaluves that directed excess rainwater from one lake to another through Bangalore's natural valleys.

This system slowed the flow of rainwater, accumulated it in a chain of lakes, replenished groundwater, and reduced the risk of flooding, helping the city balance water supply and flood control for centuries. However, as Bangalore expanded, many of these canals gradually disappeared under roads and buildings, others narrowed, and some were converted into sewer channels instead of stormwater drains.

Pollution Problem and Restoration Process

The K100 waterway was no exception. Over the years, it began carrying nearly 130 million liters of untreated sewage daily. The banks of the canal were covered with solid waste, and the canal became known more for its foul odor than for its original role in Bangalore's water supply system.

The K100 restoration project first required addressing the pollution problem. The Karnataka government, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), MOD Foundation, and several technical partners were involved. The first step was stopping the inflow of sewage into the canal. The channel bed was cleared, decades of accumulated waste were removed, and new sewerage infrastructure was built to divert sewage away from the stormwater canal. The capacity of wastewater treatment was also increased, which reduced the amount of untreated sewage entering the canal from approximately 130 million liters per day to about 5 million liters.

Transformation into an Ecological Corridor

Only after improving water quality did work begin on the surrounding landscape. Pedestrian paths were established along large sections of the canal, trees were planted to create shaded public areas, and abandoned edges were transformed into accessible spaces allowing people to reconnect with the water. Today, K100 represents a green-blue corridor nearly 12 kilometers long, combining ecological restoration with the creation of public space.

Prospects for Urban Planning

Bangalore's water resource issues are not new. The Rajakaluve system, existing over 500 years ago, was originally designed to solve many of the city's modern problems. By connecting lakes in Bangalore's valleys, it allowed excess rainwater to naturally move across the landscape while replenishing groundwater. In an interview with South First, urban designer Naresh Narasimhan, who developed the K100 Citizen's Waterway Project, noted that Bangalore already has an extensive water network—it simply stopped functioning as intended.

The city receives between 900 and 1000 millimeters of rainfall annually, but a significant portion of this water mixes with untreated sewage in stormwater drains before reaching downstream lakes. According to Narasimhan, it is crucial to view sewage as a resource, not waste, for a city often facing water scarcity. The K100 project reflects this shift in thinking, rethinking drainage not as forgotten infrastructure but as part of a living water system capable of improving the environment and creating valuable public spaces.

The success of this project points to a broader possibility: there are still over 842 kilometers of Rajakaluves in Bangalore, many of which continue to link the city's historic chain of lakes. Environmentalists have long argued that restoring these canals alongside rejuvenating Bangalore's lakes can improve groundwater recharge, strengthen the city's water security, and reduce urban flooding. While K100 itself will not solve Bangalore's water crisis, it serves as an important reminder that some of the city's most effective climate solutions are not novelties; they were part of Bangalore's landscape for centuries, awaiting restoration rather than reinvention.