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07 April 2005
Rain Water harvesting.

Anna Hazare has proved that annual rain fall of meager 25 cm is adequate to satisfy needs of drinking water and irrigation. However, cities and towns have not undertaken their due responsibility.Cities consume maximum per capita water and yet do not contribute towards rain water harvesting or conservation.

Storage is the main difficulty. It needs very high investment in making artificial tanks. At least presently no one is ready to invest in constructing storage for water. To make people take part in rain water harvesting this aspect needs to be given importance. Making any law for water collection is likely to be more abused than followed as long as cost factor is beyond reach of the residents.

Therefore, we need to think about storing water deep in the soil. Wherever soil strata permits storage at a depth such that it would not affect safety of buildings residents are sure to co-operate. In most of the cities and towns there are suitable soil strata, disintegrated rock or moorum stone. Rain water storage in disintegrated rock would not affect safety of buildings and also would be financially affordable.

Water so stored may not be directly useful for the urban residents at least immediately. Most of the water so collected would find ways to flow through natural underground channels. It may take years before the soil gets saturated with water and it is available at the place of harvesting.

There is no need to get disappointed with this. Firstly there is a hope it may be available after some years (may not know, how many?) and secondly whatever water flows underground would appear some where else and would be available for residents of that area. This may be considered like 'repaying loan'. Urban resident utilise water stored in some rural area and play their role in making available some quantity to some other rural area.

Let every compound and road side storm water drains have a bore hole for drinking rainwater by the earth.

If urban residents are thinking about future and thinking about others, they would certainly accept their responsibility in rain water harvesting and invite experts to give technical know-how for the purpose.