Ardhra Nair / TNN / Oct 27, 2023, 13:34 IST
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Getting the measure of water in dams and other water bodies from the surface is easy, but doing the same for groundwater, even if there’s a borewell, isn’t. You need to drop a tape into the borewell, or use high-end digital water level recorders.
Vijay Gawade’s Bhujal app uses the principle of the Doppler effect to make this simple and accurate. You just need to download the app, use an iron rod to strike the borewell lid, keep the phone on the lid, and the waves generated will provide the water level measure on the app in less than a minute. The Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), which has used the app in 300 borewells across three wards in Pune, says the error margin of the measurement is plus/minus 10%.
Gawade says using the app does not require the opening of the borewell’s assembly. “The app tracks water usage over time and in real-time, helping people see where water is being used the most and make changes,” he says.
The Pune Municipal Corporation, along with ACWADAM, is mapping aquifers in the district using the app. Himanshu Kulkarni, executive director of ACWADAM, says they have already mapped shallow regions and put out a report. “In the second phase, we are mapping groundwater in deep regions,” he says.
Gawade’s venture, Waterlabs Solutions, focuses on innovations for groundwater management and has been supported by Union government grants.
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