VILLAGERS FEAR THE SAL MAY DRY UP DUE TO EXPLOITATION BY INDUSTRIAL UNITS AT VERNA PLATEAU

Kesarval, perhaps the most popular spring in South Goa till two years back, has dried up, but now villagers around the Verna plateau and environmentalists are worried about a greater catastrophe to Salcete's lifeline--the Sal drying up due to rampant exploitation of ground water by industrial units at Verna plateau.
Villagers around the Verna plateau sense the danger as they allege more than 200 bore wells at Goa's biggest and most productive industrial estate are sourcing the ground water for their needs. "The sinking of bore wells by some units has depleted the water table and dried up three popular springs in the area, which are the source of the Sal," Judith Rebello, a resident of Verna said. "Farmers have even stopped growing a second paddy crop due to quicker drying of water sources now.
Agrees A G Chachadi, hydrogeologist, "The ground water on the plateau has been a reservoir for thousands of years, and this natural tank is being emptied, without much consideration for recharge artificially, either through rainwater harvesting or other means”.
Lamenting the unsustainable development, he said the change of land use in the main upper catchment area of River Sal can lead to depletion of water level in villages below and dry up the river's sources. "The plateau is a recharge area and converting the land with natural cover into concrete leads to depletion. During rains, the water cannot penetrate the soil for recharge and flows faster down the slope," the associate professor of earth sciences, Goa University explained. However, past president of Verna industrial association Nitin Kunkolienkar refused to take the blame for units striking bore wells. "If there was enough water, no one would have dug bore wells, but the government has failed miserably in providing water for the units," the former president of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. Urging the government to haul up Goa Industrial Development Corporation for its failure to find solutions to the problem, he said abundant raw water is available up to Sao Jose de Areal. Regarding rainwater harvesting by units at Verna, he said the scheme floated by water resources department has not yet taken off
. Chachadi says most units have huge structures with enough roof cover to carry out rain water harvesting for ground water recharge. "They have to put back into ground water what they pump out excessively," he said. Stating that indiscriminate pumping has amplified the impact on ground water, he urged the government to control it. "The ground water Act should be strictly implemented," he added.
However, the ground water cell of water resources department has failed to monitor or curb the rampant tapping of the resource, villagers allege. "All out gram sabha resolutions and petitions have had little effect," says Edwin Pinto, a resident of Nagoa.
H M Rangaraju, ground water officer, South Goa said that the process of monitoring is being initiated by sinking six bore wells for this purpose in various parts of the industrial estate. "These will help us exclusively gauge water levels on the plateau," he said. But sources said this exercise may take three years.
The actual monitoring of ground water use by individual units is proposed to be done by fixing water meters. "We will shortly fix 10 m on experimental basis and charges will be applied based on applications," he said. In another exercise, the flow in the nullahs from the plateau and water level in wells below will also be studied. The ground water cell has prohibited sinking of more bore wells. "We have given permissions for only 169 borewells," he said. However, villagers are not happy with the department's slow pace of remedial measures, fearing the danger to their lifeline. The Sal is known to originate from Uddear spring in the western foothills of Verna, but villagers say it is little known that more springs gushing down from the heart of Verna industrial plateau also contribute to its flow. "These springs join the flow to the Sal," Rebello said.
But rapid flow of water due to concretization of the plateau will decrease the dry weather flow to the Sal, says Chachadi. "As the rate of surface runs offs will increase due to change of land use, the plateau will not absorb the water and during dry weather, the base flow to the river will not happen," he said. This raises the possibility of greater salt water intrusion upstream of the river from the present point of tidal fluctuation near Nuvem. The probability of floods and pollution is also likely to increase. "The rapid run offs may carry more solid and liquid waste to the river and modify the river's water quality," he said. Chachadi who has been monitoring water levels of 25 wells around Verna plateau said due to change in chemical quality of surface water run offs, it may affect the food source of aquatic life in the river over a period of time.
The inter-tidal waters and coastal waters receive the micronutrient from the land based sources, but change in land use will bury the soil cover rich in these micronutrients. "The micronutrients will not be carried away to the river during rains due to concrete cover, and lack of food will affect fish population and their size and species," he explained.