Can we protect
our precious ground water on the sea cost of over 7500 kilometers of Indian
cost line?
Our country -
India is one of the richest country with its natural resources - gift of nature
India has over
7500 kilometres long sea cost and has the most fragile ecosystem. Ground water extraction
along the sea cost has encouraged saline water intrusion to several kilometres inland.
Ground water being the major source for domestic as well as industrial use has
touched alarming levels of TDS. Water softeners and largescale water treatment
plants are the order of the day for both domestic and industrial water
requirement (unsustainable)
It is time we
take scientifically correct and simple measures to harness rainwater and
protect our ground water- Sustainable management
Ganjam, Odisha - Case study of Grasim Chemicals
Water pumped 2360
kld
Water supply on
the way to villagers 500 kld
Water used in the
plant 1860
kld
Raw Water Quality
TDS 2600
Annual Rainfall 1238 mm
Road side drain to collect rainwater |
Cement ring well infiltration gallery |
RainTap RoofWater
filters are mounted on the wall to filter roof top rainwater from the buildings
and used rainwater is used for domestic needs as the rainwater is purer than
any other source in the colony.
Accelerated recharge wells |
Testing of percolation of water through recharge wells |
Large scale
ground water recharge at the ‘Rushikulya’ river bank:
Three borewells
of diameter 300 mm at depth of around 46 meters are the source of water on the
bank of Rushikulya’ river.
Only two
borewells are being used at present. The third borewell is not in use and is
sealed from the top.
The percolation
pond near the borewells has around 30,000 sqm catchment area and impound water
by creating an impervious bund using HDPE liner. Recharge of rainwater through
sub soil and augmented by drilling two recharge shafts with perforated /
serrated casing pipe to a depth of 40 meters. The third borewell which is not
in use is also in the water impounding area close to the bund. This borewell
can also be used to recharge water as this is not being used to with draw
water.
Perforated pipe ground water recharge shaft |
HDPE lined rainwater collection pond for high volume groundwater recharge |
To enhance the
ground water recharge capacity, additional catchment of around 90,000 sqm area
is developed near the pump house and the care taker house. Two impounding bunds
with HDPE lining are created to form two separate ponds to collect rainwater.
As the catchment
areas have water flowing in different directions, few channels are dug to lead
the rainwater towards ponds with impervious bunds.
Water harvesting
in the open field of the Grasim colony is established by creating precast
cement ring wells for accelerated ground water recharge. The rainwater
collected in the box type drain is intercepted at intervals and the water is
diverted to the recharge wells created next to the drain.
To create
awareness for water conservation and rainwater harvesting, over 30 schools are identified
and the surface runoff from the playground and surrounding area of the school
buildings is diverted to precast cement ring wells for accelerated ground water
recharge.