BENGALURU: Bengaluru siblings — 17-year-old Veruschka Pandey and 20-year-old Vedansh Pandey — have secured a patent for a system to recharge groundwater using stormwater drains (SWDs), said to be the first in India. The duo’s innovation embeds open wells with precision-drilled rings and slotted GI pipes (used for conveying raw water distribution of treated water) to convert rainwater runoff into aquifer recharge, tackling flooding and water scarcity.
Growing up in the city, where monsoons flood the roads while borewells run dry, Vedansh, an environment engineering student, and Veruschka, a Class 12 student and a World Health Organisation (WHO) Youth Ambassador and UN speaker, envisioned a way to transform rainwater from a discarded resource into a source of renewal.
Their system embeds open wells in SWD beds, lined with concrete rings drilled with precision weep holes (small openings in a structure’s wall or foundation to drain excess water and allow ventilation). Galvanised iron pipes regulate the seepage, enabling rapid percolation during monsoons and gradual recharge in dry months.
Unlike conventional recharge pits, the model integrates directly into existing stormwater networks, requires no extra land and naturally filters water as it seeps into the soil.