DNA : Harvesting means water woes go down the drain : Sept 21, 2207

harvesting means water woes go down the drain
three housing societies in the western suburbs show how water harvesting can
be a great boon - and, if not implemented correctly, a bane as well
shubhangi ghadi. khar

when most housing societies in mumbai are lamenting the problems caused by
constant water cuts, by april next year in some societies, water shortage
will be a thing of past, thanks to the rainwater-harvesting schemes they
have implemented.

sealine society, union park, khar (w)
sealine society, which also houses congress leader narayan rane's bungalow,
opted for rainwater-harvesting techniques in 2005, and since then, the
society hasn't faced a water shortage.

says navin chandra, a resident, "after i came to know that through rainwater
harvesting we could solve our water shortage problems, we decided to go in
for it. we not only invested in rainwater harvesting systems, but also
installed a water-treatment plant at a cost of rs 6 lakh."
currently, the society has a 10,000 litre tank and a borewell. chandra
boasts, "we collect more than 6 lakh litres of water in all. when there is
an utter shortage of municipal drinking water, we treat the borewell water
and use it for drinking and cooking." he adds that the society, which
earlier found it difficult to cope with the water demands of 11 flats and
the heavy security presence in the society, now has no worries.
st catherine's school and orphanage, andheri
st catherine's school and orphanage has 400 inmates to take care of at any
time of the day, and this includes the staff. every year, till 2003, they
faced an acute shortage of water, especially from march onwards, but after
they implemented rainwater harvesting techniques in the school, the water
crisis is a thing of the past.

informs sister sudha from the school, "we had a large number of people to
take care of, especially small children from the orphanage, and water
shortage was a problem for us. despite having a borewell, it hardly served
any purpose during the summer months. dr ajit gokhale, a consultant for
natural calamities, suggested that we install rainwater harvesting
mechanisms in our school. we implemented the method that very year and since
then, have not faced any water problems in our school."
the initial amount the school spent on this method was rs 85,000, and
maintenance costs in the last three years have only been rs 10,000. sister
sudha adds that bmc-supplied water is used only for drinking, and the water
collected during the rains is used for washing and flushing toilets.
whispering palms society, kandivli (w)

however, rainwater harvesting techniques need to be implemented in the right
manner, as evident from the experience of the residents of whispering palms
society. ramita mehta, chairperson of building number 6, says, "we lost
almost 70 per cent of the water in this year's monsoon since the harvesting
pipes were not placed correctly. we spent around rs 1 lakh in constructing
the rainwater harvesting system. but we plan to rectify the problem after
the monsoon, since 70 per cent of the rain water that could have been
collected is going down the drain."

mehta says that though the society has a borewell, the rainwater that is
collected is surplus and is of great help during the summer, when borewell
water gets depleted. this saved water is used for washing cars and
gardening.

g_shubhangi@dnaindia.netnavin chandra shows the water treatment plant
installed in the society; (r) sister sudha points toward the place where the
school has carried out rainwater harvesting - smkabeer


Publication : DNA; Section : Westcost; Pg :1; Date : 21/9/07
URL :
http://digital.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Sup&queryed=33&querypage=3&boxid=30777398&parentid=48449&eddate=09/22/2007