Session contribution to the theme “Water and Cities”:

• Create awareness among representatives (administrators 
  and general public) of cities on the benefits of implementing 
  Rainwater Harvesting projects

• Educate them on the need to check the depletion of aquifers and 
  to stabilize the quality and quantity of water of production wells in cities

• Initiate the public to the strategy of harvesting rainwater at their
  premises in all cities

• Illustrate the benefits of Rainwater Harvesting through a display of successful working models in Indian cities

• Show proper Land-use Planning methods, comprising Rainwater 
  Harvesting plans for cities

• Throw light on ways to increase natural recharge in cities

• Explain the necessity of Artificial Recharge in cities

• Explain the importance of identifying and recharging hydro-geologically potential zones in cities

• Demonstrate the prospects of recycling and reusing treated water
  in cities

• List methods of water conservation in cities

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Main objective of the session

To educate leaders, administrators, bureaucrats, and the general public 
from all parts of the world on the following:

• The process of recharging depleting aquifers and of stabilizing the
   yield of water, both quantitatively and qualitatively.  

• The strategy of turning the calamity of floods into opportunity, to 
  solve the drinking water crisis in cities.                 
                                   
  

• Methods and systems of installing Rainwater Harvesting structures in individual houses, multi-storeyed buildings, colonies, common plots,
  parks and roads. (Illustration of methods and systems through 
  successful case studies in cities.)
  
  

• Land-use Planning and Rainwater Harvesting.
  
  

• Techniques of making cities self-sufficient in their drinking water 
  needs.
  
  

• Recycling and using treated water for the purpose of recharging 
  aquifers. Water conservation methods.

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Rainwater Harvesting and Educational Awareness
(Water and Cities)
-K.R. Gopinath


Current scenario

One of the notable political challenges the world over is the need to mitigate
urban water scarcity successfully. With growing demand for water in cities, government authorities are under pressure to solve consequent socio-economic issues. Not only population growth but also urbanization and industrialization
increase the demand for water. It has been witnessed in many cases that 
cities with inadequate water resources face a gradual environmental and
economic degradation.

  KRG Rainwater Harvesting Foundation

KRG Rainwater Harvesting Foundation is a pioneer organization in the 
field of water harvesting and management in India. Backed by over 
19 years of experience in the field, it has registered several success 
stories in India in its efforts to lessen urban water problems.

 The Foundation’s key strategies have been to…

1. Create awareness
2. Carry out feasibility studies
3. plement Rainwater Harvesting projects, including construction of   
    site-specificartificial-recharge structures.

 The Foundation has practically proved through numerous case studies that Rainwater Harvesting is the best tool for solving the existing water crisis,
especially in cities.

To underline the efficacy of Rainwater Harvesting and to take the message
to the people, the Foundation has repeatedly conducted awareness-creating
programmes. In this exercise, it has enjoyed the leadership of its 
Founder and Chairman, Mr. K.R. Gopinath.

The awareness-creating presentations by Mr. Gopinath in workshops and
seminars on Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Recharge Structures, 
have spread the importance of Rainwater Harvesting to all corners of 
India. The audiences have included leading institutions like UNICEF, 
ADB, Indian Space Research Organization, Confederation of Indian 
Industries, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, 
Central Groundwater Board, Indian Railways, and the governments of Tamil Nadu, 
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It is interesting to note
that in the case of the various state governments, bureaucrats have 
reacted to the presentations with alacrity, which has resulted in timely 
state ordinances to check groundwater exploitation and to make Rainwater Harvesting mandatory. In short, the presentations by Mr. Gopinath have 
induced watershed management all over the country.

In addition, the Foundation has to its credit the achievement of introducing
Rainwater Harvesting in factories and industries, including multinational
companies like Coca-Cola, five-star hotels, residential complexes and individual houses in cities.The scale of most of the projects has been large. As a 
result, they have contributed to a great extent to the alleviation of water 
scarcity in urban areas in Indian states – in Tamil Nadu, in particular.

Perhaps the most significant achievement of the Foundation is the technical feasibility studies it has executed in 47 municipalities in India. The studies,
conducted with the aim of devising water harvesting and management 
programmes, have established the Foundation as a highly placed source 
of innovative technical principles as far as rectifying problems related to
urban water sustainability is concerned, in parts or as a whole.

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Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater Harvesting can yield copious amounts of water. For an average
rainfall of 1,000mm, approximately four million litres of rainwater can be
collected in a year in an acre of land (4,047 m²), post-evaporation.

As Rainwater Harvesting is neither energy-intensive nor labour-intensive,
it can be a cost-effective alternative to other water-accruing methods,
such as desalination of seawater and interlinking of rivers.

One of the important advantages of Rainwater Harvesting is that it
prevents intrusion of seawater into coastal regions.

Rainwater Harvesting is a technically feasible solution for overcoming the
problem of water scarcity in cities. Water from rainfall infiltrates into an
aquifer through an artificial recharge structure, thus recharging the aquifer. 
The water is stored in the aquifer, from where it can be retrieved for future use.

With the water table falling rapidly, and with concrete buildings, paved car parks,
business complexes, and landfill dumps taking the place of water bodies,
Rainwater Harvesting is the most reliable solution for augmenting groundwater
level to attain self-sufficiency in public distribution of water in drought-prone
areas. Artificial Recharge is the best method of conserving rainwater, which will
arrest the shrinking of water reserves.

Strategies

KRG Rainwater Harvesting Foundation has the expertise and technical
know-how for transforming any drought-prone city into a water-rich one
through short-term and long- term projects. The Foundation finds it fit to
recommend andsuggest Urban Water Alleviation Programmes
via the following…

• Identify potential zones in overexploited areas, and design and implement
  suitable,site-specific roof water and surface water harvesting structures to
  raise the ground water table. The activities would utilize geology,
  geophysics and hydrogeology as irreplaceable tools.
  
  

• Promulgate roof and surface water harvesting techniques through
  Community Rainwater Harvesting methods to produce significant
  first-hand remedies for water crisis in cities.
  
  

• Sustain the existing water supply schemes by artificial recharge
  
  

• Introduce water-harvesting structures on unpolluted storm water drains,
  open areas, parks and playgrounds.
  
  

• Endeavour to protect aquifer sanctuaries and make them sustainable
  for future demand.
  
  

• Use stagnant water for recharge purposes in relatively low-lying areas,
  store floodwater in appropriate locations, and construct suitable recharge
  structures in waterlogging areas. This strategy will not only yield precious
  water for recharging aquifers but also help alleviate problems associated
  with flood control.
  
  

• Introduce site-specific artificial recharge structures on wide roads,
  which become waterways during heavy downpour in the monsoon season.
  
  

• Convert dry tube wells and bore wells into recharge wells.
  
  

• Design projects for Recycling and Reuse of wastewater
  
  

• Design projects for grey water treatment.
  
  

• Construct site-specific artificial recharge structures, like Percolation pits,
  Dug cum Bore wells, Mini Artificial Aquifer System, Trench cum
  Percolation Pits, Percolation Ponds, Recharge wells and Sectorial Recharge structures at technically strategic locations in urban areas.
  
  

• Develop mass awareness programmes that reach several thousands of
  kilometres among the public for consumptive usage of water and
  implementation ofsimple Rainwater Harvesting structures
  
  

• Make roof water harvesting a people’s movement by educating the
  public through various means, like establishing Rain Centres,
  exhibiting surface models, case studies and attractive propagation of
  Rainwater Harvesting
  
  

• Commence and sustain training programmes for executives of
  Government and Non Government Organizations, and strengthen
  ongoing awareness projects.
  

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