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Successful examples of Rain Water Harvesting
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Successful examples of Rain Water Harvesting
Harvest to Harness (H2H) 2004, the first ever competition on rainwater harvesting, organized by the Rachana Sansad’s Institute of Environmental Architecture ( academy_architecture@yahoo.com ), the Lotus Suites and The Times Group has declared its results. Twenty five final Entries ranging from Urban, Commercial to Rural & Industrial, were evaluated by a team of eminent panelists including Mr. Avinash Kubal, Deputy Director, Maharashtra Nature Park, Dr. Claire Elouard, General Manager, Nature Trust Foundation, Architect Nandan Mungekar and Dr. Ashok Joshi, Faculty, Rachana Sansad’s Institute of Environmental Architecture.
For the first time, the competition has brought together ideas, technical inputs and engineering details for harvesting rainwater. It has not only dispelled myths related to rainwater harvesting in cities, but also created awareness among students and residents to conserve and store rainwater. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) estimates that by 2021, the water shortage in Mumbai will amount to nearly 2000 million liters daily. This gap in demand supply can be bridged only by reducing and conserving water and by rainwater harvesting.
The top four entries which were ranked in the open category include the Systems Department of Naval Dockyard, Coloba, the people of Village Khamgaon Wadi, Maharashtra, St. Catherine’s Home, Andheri and Dayanand Institute, Solapur. In the Design Category, the top two awards were given to the students of I.E.S. College of Architecture, Bandra, and the Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture. The contact details of winners in each category are as follows:
Address : Vidyanidhi Marg, Juhu Scheme, off 10th Road,
Mumbai – 400 049.
Contact: Neha Palkar
Tel : 26700918
OPEN CATEGORY
1) Systems department Naval Dockyard:
Appropriately named Jal Sanchayan, the rainwater harvesting system project designed by the Systems Department of the Naval dockyard provides an ideal example of how awareness and sensitivity among workmen and supervisors can yield positive results on the environmental front. The Systems Department, which normally undertakes repairs of warships and submarines, took up the challenge of bridging their water scarcity in November 2003. Within 5 months, through diligent planning and brainstorming, the team, using existing resources, was able to harvest 450,000 liters of rainwater used for both industrial uses such as hydraulic testing of pipes and valves as well as non- industrial uses such as in bathrooms and for gardening. By a combination of roof water harvesting and charging of existing saline bore well, the team has plans to harvest 55 lakh liters of water in the second phase.
2) People of Village Khamgaon Sutar Wadi:
The rainwater harvesting system developed in village Khamgaon Wadi is a tribute to the will & dedication of its inhabitants. Rejecting the government sponsored Shiv Kalin Paani Sathvan Yojna, which provides each family with Rs. 20,000 to construct & store rain water, the villagers after an elementary geological analysis of the region decided on ground water recharge as the best method for harvesting rain. By constructing simple structures such as gabions, cordoning walls around springs & lined ponds, the inhabitants through their own labor were able to design a rainwater harvesting scheme at a cost of Rs. 75 per cubic meter of harvested water. The total water requirement is only 0.86% of harvestable water.
3) St. Catherine’s Home, Andheri:
The site of the 82 year-old Home housing 360 inmates is abundantly blessed with water resources with two open wells and two dry wells. Until November 2003, the Home never faced a water shortage despite low municipal water supply in the region and spending nearly 20,000 liters everyday on gardening. However, with the proliferation of bore wells in the region attributed to recent developments around the home, wells in the home began to go dry and threatened not only the domestic supply of inmates but also the verdant greenery of the site. After trying all possible means, the Sisters at St. Catherine called Dr. Ajit Gokhale, a rain water harvesting consultant who after careful geological and land use study of site, was able to revive the age old springs around the home. The site has a water harvesting potential of nearly 68million liters, almost 2.5 times the water requirement. The total cost of the system is 1.5 lakhs only. In addition, the Home is planning to recycle wash water by using simple reed-bed technique costing less than Rs. 2 lakh.
4) Dayanand Institute Solapur:
Indigenously designed through scientific and geology data accumulated by the Geology department of the Dayanand Institute, the Rain water harvesting technique used in the Dayanand Institute Campus collects rain from 270 sq. m of roof area and uses it to recharge ground water, which is then harvested from a bore well. With accurate geological data, scientists at the Dayanand Institute have recharged the ground water at two depths: one at 10 – 15 m depth at the seasonal water zone and at 40 – 50 m level at the low-yeild water zone. In addition, a soak pit built around the well allows for collection and percolation of surface run-off water from a surrounding area of nearly 2000 sq m
DESIGN CATEGORY
1) IES College of Architecture, Bandra:
Providing a plan for harvesting rainwater in the 12,000 sq. m. Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya, Dadar, the students of IES College of Architecture present a detailed analysis of the acute water crisis in the campus and techniques to deal with it. These techniques include direct charging of existing bore well through roof water from terrace, allowing minimum water to municipal water drain, allowing water from storm water drains to percolate by constructing bund walls and shallow perforated vertical bores 29 feet apart as well as horizontal perforated pipes along recreational ground for water percolation. Students point out the reason for choosing the building as it would create social awareness among young minds.
2) Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture (KRVIA), Juhu:
“There is a failure in understanding nature as an integrated connecting system that operates regardless of locality. Integrating Urbanization with ecology through the design process is our primary objective” states the synopsis of the KRVIA students of architecture. The design stems from a need to deal with the socio-economic, aesthetic and environmental conditions prevailing in the slums around the Juhu Vile Parle Development (JVPD) Scheme. It aims to provide domestic water supply to slum inhabitants by harvesting roof water from a covered walkway in Ronson Gardens, recycle the drained water of existing filthy nallah through a reed-bed system and provide it for gardening as well as for non-domestic purposes and to send across a message to citizens to harvest rainwater for the future. With illustrative sketches and explanations, the design could well be implemented by NGOs and other institutions having a stake in the region.
1) IES College of Architecture, Bandra:
Providing a plan for harvesting rainwater in the 12,000 sq. m. Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya, Dadar, the students of IES College of Architecture present a detailed analysis of the acute water crisis in the campus and techniques to deal with it. These techniques include direct charging of existing bore well through roof water from terrace, allowing minimum water to municipal water drain, allowing water from storm water drains to percolate by constructing bund walls and shallow perforated vertical bores 29 feet apart as well as horizontal perforated pipes along recreational ground for water percolation. Students point out the reason for choosing the building as it would create social awareness among young minds.