At a time when most people in cities across India are scrambling for water and pinning their hopes on water tankers, it’s more important than ever to learn how to cope with such a crisis. According to a recent report, India is facing the worst water crisis in its history and 21 Indian cities will run out of groundwater by 2020. If that is not alarming, we're not sure what is.
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The southern state of Tamil Nadu is one the worst hit this year. The situation, according to experts, has worsened in the wake of soaring temperature, dearth of rainfall, drying up of reservoirs, wells, lakes and delayed monsoon. Residents in Chennai have to wait for water tankers to arrive and then queue up for hours together, to collect their daily water supply in buckets or pitchers. The crisis is so bad that the Information Technology companies in Tamil Nadu are asking people to work from home to limit the use of water in bathrooms.
One reason the city is reeling under the pressure of this water shortage is the lack of awareness about rain water harvesting.?Chennai resident Sekhar Raghavan once advocated that rainwater is the only way to quench the city’s thirst. Fondly known as the ‘Rain man’, Raghavan took it upon himself and went door to door telling people the need for rain water harvesting.
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Back in 2001 when Jayalalitha became the Chief Minister, the government made huge strides in rain water harvesting, and Sekar in turn helped cover the 90 per cent of the city with ways and models to implement the same. And it’s baffling to see how the city is struggling now.
To combat water crisis, all it takes is a simple initiative in the comfort of your home. There are also many added benefits to this method of conserving water, it’s a relatively free and clean source, you have complete control over your water supply and it’s environment-friendly.?
Rain water harvesting isn’t rocket science, if you wish to start on this sustainable path, here are some simple DIY rain water harvesting techniques.
This method is the most common and relatively easy method - it involves installing a barrel in a gutter downspout to collect rainwater. A pipe from the roof can be connected to the barrel through which the rain water can trickle down. To avoid the barrel of water from turning into a mosquito breeding ground, make sure you cover it with a lid or add a table spoon of vegetable oil to the water.
This method was devised by KJ Antoji from Kerala and this discovery happened by chance when his garden pipe accidentally hit the ground while he was watering his plants. According to Better India, as soon as the pipe hit the ground, the high water pressure drilled a 30 cm hole in the garden floor where the ground water started flowing.
A DIY rain chain will emit a wonderful sound and also collect the much needed water in the process. You can direct the water from the DIY rain chain into a barrel, a plant or even into a small water garden near your house. All you need is a few used bottles preferably glass , a chain to your desire length and start assembling them.?
A splash block is usually a piece of concrete or plastic of rectangular shape placed below or at the end of the downspout that carries rainwater from the roof of a house during rainfall. It basically absorbs the force of the water that is getting diverted from the roof.
This is the fastest and one of the simplest methods - all you need is small storage container and two plastic containers that look like an upside down umbrella. This contraption will catch the water straight from the sky and into the container.
Source/The Hindu
Rainwater that falls on the rooftop can easily be made to run through a storage facility like a sump or a tank. This water can be filtered to purify the larger particles before being stored.
To plant a rain garden in your house, you’ll first have to navigate the right place to build the garden near your house. It should ideally be 3-5 feet away from your house. It’s the simplest and the most aesthetic way to use rain water.