Biome Environmental Trust – Advancing Integrated Urban Water Management

Rainmatter Partner Updates
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About Biome:

At Biome, we believe that water solutions must be local, democratic, and regenerative. Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) must not be a top-down technocratic agenda, but a subsidiarity-driven model—with communities managing what they can, and municipal/state systems supporting them.

Biome Environmental Trust’s multi-dimensional approach to sustainable water management includes engaging with policymakers, communities, schools, and research institutions by implementing projects, conducting research, building capacity, shaping policy, and engaging the public. Biome empowers a wide range of stakeholders to adopt and promote sustainable water and sanitation practices.

Over the last three years, support from Rainmatter Foundation has strengthened Biome Environmental Trust’s institutional capacity in communications, knowledge management, and organizational systems. This has enabled dedicated time for developing new ideas, advancing advocacy, and engaging state institutions, complementing ongoing pro-bono work and project-based CSR support. During this period, Biome’s integrated approach to managing rainwater, lakes, shallow aquifers, and wastewater has continued to demonstrate effective climate-resilient solutions across urban and peri-urban contexts.

Highlights from our work over the last three years:

  • Institutional recognition:

Biome was selected as a finalist at the SVP India FAST PITCH (from 260 NGOs), supporting campaigns on community well revival and school-based rainwater harvesting.

  • Policy and systems integration:

Biome’s advocacy contributed to the inclusion of Urban Shallow Aquifer Management under AMRUT 2.0, piloted in 10 cities and now scaled to 75, with NIUA as coordinator and Biome as national knowledge partner.

  • Bengaluru wells and recharge work:

In partnership with BBMP and the Bengaluru Climate Action Cell, as a part of our “Million wells for Bengaluru” campaign, Biome continues to restore open wells and expand recharge structures as part of the city’s climate-resilience strategy.

  • Treated wastewater reuse (Devanahalli and Hunsmaranahalli):

Implemented India’s first Soil Aquifer Treatment systems for domestic water supply, enabling approximately 40,000 residents in each town to access shallow aquifer water and reducing dependence on deep borewells. This work received a ₹25 lakh award from the Karnataka RDPR Department for replication in Doddajala Panchayat.

  • Rural water management in Kolar with Aarohana:

Implemented rainwater harvesting in schools, revived open wells, carried out lake desilting benefiting over 200 farmers, and provided supplementary wages to workers—primarily Dalit women—while improving water security in O Mittur Gram Panchayat.

  • Climate-responsive livelihoods:

Through the Million Wells campaign Biome supported well diggers. Collaborations with sanitation worker organizations led to 35 former manual scavengers access entitlements and received support to access safer, technology-enabled sanitation services. This project continues in districts of Tumkur and Bengaluru Urban.

Find more details here: Three Years of Climate-Resilient Water Management, with Rainmatter Foundation

More key highlights:

Innovative Water Management at Devanahalli: A Step Towards Sustainability

Partnership with Arohana Grameenabhivruddi Samsthe on ‘Integrated Rural Development Project’

Sharing Our Report - A Decade of Collective Impact

Resources:

Urbanwaters.in

The Urban Waters website is a repository of resources to understand and tackle urban water issues.

Find information under different themes, resource types and languages. The website hosts resources under 20 different categories, such as rainwater harvesting, urban lakes, integrated water management, etc, for four cities in India – Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune,Hyderabad – and is supported by the Wipro Foundation.

Biome Talks

A playlist of talks on all things related to urban water.

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Over the past quarter, we continued to deepen our work across urban and peri-urban water systems, strengthening institutional partnerships and advancing climate resilient solutions rooted in local contexts. Building on the trust established over the years with government agencies, civil society partners, and communities, this period has been marked by meaningful progress in scaling earlier pilots, securing co-funding from local institutions, and supporting partner organizations as they grow independently. Across all our efforts, a consistent theme stands out: our on-ground pilots continue to serve as powerful tools of advocacy, enabling government systems to see, understand, and ultimately invest in climate-resilient water solutions.

Strengthening Partners: Aarohana’s Transition to Independent Sustainability

Our partnership with Aarohana in Kolar has entered a new phase. EcoEnergy has signed an MoU and committed three years of support for desilting work, creating reliable annual livelihoods for 30 women—benefiting 90 women over the full cycle—and enabling around farmers to use the nutrient-rich silt as fertilizer for their fields. Analog Devices, whose CSR association began through our early capacity-building support, now gives Aarohana complete autonomy to choose the lakes, kaluves and waterbodies they work on desiliting. Our initial capacity building support has led to Aarohana’s internal capacity growing substantially, with more women and youth joining as field supervisors and financial planning that allows them to undertake multi-year projects. Meanwhile, communities themselves are stepping forward: one village are looking to rejuvenate their temple Kalyani independently, and residents near a restored open well are contributing to develop it as a shared community space. Rising groundwater levels—with wells and Kalyanis holding water year-round—reflect this collective effort. Aarohana’s ability to independently secure funding and expand its work from working in O mittur Garm Panchayat, to now working also in Anagondanahalli, marks an important step toward a locally anchored, women-led model of water resource management. Our relationship with Asha who heads Aarohana and makes this work possible remains strong and we look forward to continue this work.

Devanahalli: From a 1 MLD Pilot to Full-Town Supply

In Devanahalli, our treated wastewater re-use and shallow aquifer recharge project continues to evolve and expand. Until recently, the project supplied around 1 MLD of water—about 20% of the town’s demand—through a system of treated wastewater recharge, an open well, and filter borewells. The Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka, and the Managing Director of KUWSDB visited the site to understand the model first-hand. Their response was extremely encouraging, and they expressed strong appreciation for the project.

Following the visit, they have committed to scaling the system to meet the entire water requirement of Devanahalli, expanding capacity to approximately 6 MLD. This shift represents a major institutional endorsement of the model.

Strengthening the Hunsmaranahalli Water System

In Hunsmaranahalli, we continued expanding the shallow aquifer–based water system that began with the revival of Six open wells. This quarter, 4 Filter borewells were added, which will now be connected to the water supply for the town. Alongside the physical expansion, we are currently conducting a study to understand how locally generated wastewater can be managed to stabilize and de-risk this supply. The goal is to design a system that is resilient to climate variability, protects groundwater from over-extraction, and uses local resources efficiently.

Scaling Through the RDPR Award: Progress in Doddajala and Begur

Following our recognition at the Karnataka Rural Water and Sanitation Sustainability Summit—where we were awarded a grant to replicate our Devanahalli model in a rural context—we have made significant progress in Doddajala. The high-level design for the replication is now ready, and the Panchayat is aligned with the approach. Importantly, they have committed to co-funding the project alongside Wipro, ensuring strong local ownership.

We are currently developing two systems: a 400 KLD unit, and a 200 KLD unit for Begur. The award money is being used exclusively for technology, while all civil construction costs are being fully supported by the Panchayat. Their proactive engagement and willingness to invest in the project demonstrate the growing institutional trust.

Million Wells Campaign: Revivals in Srinivasanagar and Mathikere

The Million Wells campaign also saw meaningful progress this quarter. In Srinivasanagar, we revived an open well in an area marked by political sensitivities and initial resistance from the community. Through close collaboration with Sama Foundation, who anchored persistent dialogue with local residents, we were able to overcome multiple delays—from community hesitations to festival-related work stoppages. The successful revival has now become an important demonstration of the value of patient, community-centered engagement.

Another significant milestone was the revival of the Mathikere well, for which we had been seeking permission for nearly three years. With approvals finally granted, the well has now been restored. Encouragingly, this success has shifted how institutions respond to us: departments that were once hesitant are now far more receptive, citing completed projects as clear evidence of our intent, capability, and commitment to long-term engagement.

Across all our work this quarter, a clear pattern emerges. Pilot projects continue to serve as tools for advocacy, enabling government systems to see what is possible and encouraging them to invest in scaling what works. Institutional trust—carefully built over years—is now creating pathways for municipal departments, Panchayats, and state-level agencies to collaborate with us more openly and actively.

Rainmatter Foundation’s support for institutional capacity building remains foundational to this progress. It allows us to invest time in research, partnerships, communication, advocacy, and long-term engagement—work that does not always fit into project-based budgets but is essential for enabling systems change. As we move into the next quarter, we look forward to deepening these relationships, strengthening our methodologies, and continuing to demonstrate how climate-resilient water solutions can be embedded within public systems across Karnataka and beyond.