Citizen groups visited various lakes with STPs, explored various nature-based STP technologies, and tried working with the pollution control board for the possible reuse of treated wastewater in lakes and the construction of engineered wetlands. In June 2015, a workshop for sharing learnings from Biome’s engagement with different stakeholders in Bengaluru was conducted. In 2016, a water literacy program in schools through the implementation of RWH in 10 schools in Devanahalli was initiated.

In August 2017, the Urban Waters website was created for each city to tell its water story and provide actionable information for its citizens. In April 2019, we felt the need to share the learnings over the years with other cities. A two-day residential program was organized in Bengaluru for the mutual sharing of challenges and solutions for managing urban waters. A participatory program to understand and manage groundwater in Devanahalli took place, this included working with the TMC, schools in the area, farmers and other citizens.

In 2019, in Pune, Bhujal Abhiyan, Centre for Environment and Education (CEE),and ACWADAM came out with a Strategic Hydrogeological Appraisal of Pune city’s aquifers. A comprehensive application of the practice of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in the city was produced.

2019 also saw expansion in Hyderabad. We began our collaboration with Hyderabad Urban Labs (HUL) with a roundtable on the theme of “Building perspectives on water and the metropolis” and a one-day mela in September 2019. These helped the participating organizations in building a preliminary understanding of the diversity of perspectives on water in metropolitan regions of India.

In Pune, ACWADAM began its urban groundwater management and governance project to establish a monitoring network of confined and unconfined aquifers, review and preparation of maps, systematic mapping of springs in the city, and awareness building within citizens. Bhujal Abhiyan, began supporting a group of committed individuals engaged in training and capacity building of communities, municipal corporations, and educational institutions.

In continuation of the MAR strategy for Pune, a joint project between the MoHUA and PMC 5 dugwells and percolation tanks in Pune were identified and the work was initiated.

In 2021, ACWADAM, Bhujal Abhiyan, and the PMC initiated the revival of the British-era KT-weir in Mohammadwadi and removed garbage and other waste from the stream. During this time, ACWADAM also initiated sampling of Pune’s groundwater.

Jeevitnadi initiated a rapid ecological assessment of the Mula, Pawana, and Mula-Mutha river systems in the urban limits of Pune city.

During this period, we also expanded our work in Chennai with Care Earth Trust (CET). Our engagement with CET began in 2021 with a grant towards the formation of a water secretariat, which helped us ideate, conceptualize and develop a grants program on urban waters in Chennai and its suburbs.

In 2022, at a multi-stakeholder workshop by the coalition of organizations working on groundwater, rivers and springs in Pune, the Additional Municipal Commissioner (E), PMC, declared that a groundwater cell will be established in the city. In Hyderabad, Jalam team transformed a steep slope in Mahendra hills into a recharge system and vibrant space.

In 2023, we conducted the third round of the Urban Waters boot camp. It introduced organizations in Chennai to issues around urban water systems through a series of online lectures.

From 2024 onwards, building on from over a decade of on ground learnings, the focus moves towards expanding place-based models in other Wipro locations. The aim is to integrate community-led water stewardship with state- and city-level governance systems, influencing mainstream programs such as AMRUT 2.0. The urban waters approach will continue to prioritize shallow aquifer management, nature-based solutions for flood mitigation, urban sanitation, and wetland conservation especially in the vulnerable areas.