Beedi workers look up towards clouds to quench their thirst

Beedi workers look up towards clouds to quench their thirst

Little drops of water make a mighty splash

In every crisis lies an opportunity. Here is one such inspiring story

Autos are used to ferry commuters around the city, right? Well, in a little hamlet on the outskirts, an “enterprising” auto driver found it more profitable to stock pots of water in his auto and hawk them at high rates to needy families than to ply his vehicle on the potholed roads!

The ‘Beedi Workers’ Colony is a low income group housing society in the outskirts of  Bangalore, Where there are 570 houses and 8 bore wells which are dry.

The men in this colony work as motor mechanics and autoriksha drivers, the women and children roll beedis (local cigarettes) all through the day and night.

And with the precious little that they earn, they BUY water! contaminated water! Awful, contaminated water!  

The “smart” auto driver who was hawking a pot of awful water for Rs 5 was collecting the water from Bharathi lake, behind Jnana Bharathi University. That lake is full of sewage discharged from the Vrushabavathi! The women knew the water was contaminated (“we fall sick so often”, they said) but made sure they boiled the water and drank it or used it for cooking. They really had no choice.
Isn’t it a shameful paradox that while most of us get 1,000 litres of WHO-standard water for a mere Rs 6, thanks to the BWSSB, these poor people pay Rs 5 for 12 litres of contaminated water? The haves are paying so little while the have-nots are being fleeced!

The RWH team found a small vacant plot full of weeds between 2 blocks in this colony. The kids in the block were using it as an open toilet. The plot was cleaned up, and RWH storage tank was built.

Then sealed tank to prevent contamination as hygiene levels were found to be poor has a tap on a platform with a lock. The roof water from houses in the two blocks is channeled into the tank. A Popup filter makes the water fit to use.

Every time it rains, queues form near the tank to collect pure, precious water.

What is marvellous is the life style transformation that followed. The roof, which was a complete mess of discarded cycle tyres and tubes, rotting leaves, old clothes and brooms, was cleaned up by the residents: they couldn’t afford to have their free and pure water supply contaminated!

Water from harvesting rain in this colony is still inadequate but it solves some of their water woes.

Catch the rain where it falls!

“Generate pure water from your own roof”

“Invite clouds on to your roof and then to your tank”

·        In cities, buildings are usually constructed with rooftops of  Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) or  Mangalore tiles.

·        Rooftop rainwater usually flows into storm water drains outside the plot area.

·        As roofs are built with hard material, large quantities of rainwater will runoff and loss due to evaporation and percolation are minimal. 

·        “Catch the rain where it falls” - allow the rooftop rainwater through a filter in to your tank.

In your building you have the roof, you have the down water pipes and also a tank to store water.

Just interconnect two or three down water pipes and attach a rainwater filter before allowing the rainwater in to your tank. You will get pure water at your door step.

You will be the ambassador to save water.

This simple gesture of yours will go a long way to protect nature and its precious resources.

Go green, Conserve water, Harvest rainwater. 

Dead Borewell can Spring Back to Life

Dead Borewell can Spring Back to Life

Bangalore may have at the conservative estimate, around 4 lakh borewells.

Cost of each borewell is around Rs 1 lakh (drilling + installing a pumping set).

Total investment on borewells in Bangalore is around 40,000 Million Rupees.

At least half of the borewells in Bangalore are dead (not yielding water or low yielding).

Can we bring back life in to these 2 lakh borewells and put back to use the investment of around 20,000 Million Rupees of hard earned money by individuals?

Underground water is one of the important sources of water in urban areas. With increasing urbanization, underground water has been indiscriminately exploited causing depletion in water table and water availability. It is very evident from the number of failing bore wells / open wells that it is unsustainable to pump out water from wells without recharging the same from the rainwater. To reverse the trend or to reduce the effect of over exploitation, ground water recharge needs to be taken up in large scale at residential and institutional buildings. 

There are many methods of ground water recharge, direct recharge through borewells or tubewells (only for low yielding or failed borewells) is one of the method for recharging ground water using rainwater from rooftops of buildings.

Rainwater from the roof may be allowed to flow through PopUp filter and recharge ground water from an existing borewell. Filtered rainwater from PopUp filter enters the storage tank and the overflow from the storage tank with clear and stabilized water should be diverted to the Casing Pipe of Bore well. It is advised not to allow the filtered rainwater from the PopUp filters in to the bore well (Low yielding or failed). Fine silt or dust from the roof may pass through the filter and block the micro pores or aquifers in the bore well causing permanent damage to the bore well. To avoid this, rainwater from the filters may be allowed to stabilize in a storage tank specially designed to inject rainwater in to the bore well.

Clean and safe rainwater recharges the borewell aquifers to increase the yield and availability. It is advised to consult a professional before attempting to inject rainwater into bore wells.

If the roof top rainwater is contaminated with bacteria (may be from bird droppings etc.), the borewell water will also get contaminated. If the contaminated water is injected to borewell, many borewells in the neighborhood may also get contaminated. Care should be taken to address this before attempting for borewell recharge.

ZERO ENERGY WATER

Zero Energy Water

Rainwater harvesting is the process of collecting and using rainwater in a scientific and controlled manner.

Rainwater can be collected from Flat roof or inclined roof.

Rain water can be stored at different levels. Storing the harvested rainwater on the roof itself will give you freedom from pump and electricity.

As the rainwater flows from clouds to the roof of our building, it is logical to store the water on the roof for future use. Since the roof water need filtration and the filters will need some head for the rainwater to flow through them, we can install rainwater tanks on a roof lower than that of the collection roof.

Water from this tank can be used in all the taps which are below this level. This water is “Zero Energy Water”

In nature, hydrological cycle takes the water which is on the ground through evaporation and form clouds. By this process water has traveled against the earth’s gravity and comes down as rain. Instead of allowing the roof top rainwater to flow in to the tank at the ground level, we can store part of harvested rainwater on the intermittent roof levels.

The rainwater stored in these tanks does not need electricity or pump for use, instead flows down by gravity.

Bangalore Parks are more ‘GREENER’

Bangalore Parks are more ‘GREENER’

Paradise found!

Now the lush green parks are self sufficient when it comes to meeting their water requirements in Bangalore… read on….

Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has on area of around 825 sq.km. in the city limits. The civic amenity open area includes bus-stops, play grounds, educational institutions, recreation parks etc. There are around 1060 parks in Bangalore. The total land cover dedicated for 1060 park is 770 hectares. Total water requirement of these parks at the rate of 2 litre per sq.m. for around 253 non-rainy days is 3896 Million Liters.

The rainwater harvesting proposed for parks in Bangalore is mainly planned to harvest water from the open area including the paved walk paths and the structures inside the park. It is planned to allow the rainwater to percolate mainly in the green areas which are not paved and cemented. During heavy rains, the excess flow from the saturated soil of the green area will flow into the walk path which is paved. The rainwater which is flowing in this paved area is guided to go out to the nearest storm water drain (following the natural gradient).

The rainwater harvesting interventions will intercept the outlet of the rainwater channel which is carrying the storm water from the park (at the exit point of the park). A silt trap is designed to collect the debris and the silt flowing along with the rainwater. The relatively clean water flowing out of the silt trap is systematically diverted into the infiltration gallery. The accelerated infiltration galleries are the structures which are open wells created using pre-cast cement rings.

The accelerated recharge wells are the dug wells inside the park at the lowest level (gradient). These wells are typically 1.5m, 2m and 3m in diameter with depth of around 3 to 6m. Pre-cast cement rings which are of appropriate diameter and height of around 0.3 to 0.5m. These rings are placed one above the other without any cement mortar in between joints. Loose aggregates (stones) are packed in the annular place between the cement rings and the excavated well. The entire well inside the cement rings is kept empty without any filler material. These cement ring wells will have a safety metal grill at the ground level. The last cement ring of the well is placed over the safety grill to prevent easy access into the well. These accelerated infiltration galleries – cement ring wells are closed at the top with a cement slab. The silt traps which are harvesting surface flow of rainwater from the parks will discharge rainwater through a pipe into these wells. Most of the water percolates into the soil and joins the ground water underneath.

A shallow bore well / tube well is drilled closer to these accelerated infiltration galleries to collect the harvested water underground. These bore wells will supply water for the plants in the parks during the non-rainy days.

Some of the parks which have larger paved areas, playgrounds or structures are provided with underground sumps to harvest rainwater directly. The harvested rainwater is used for the toilet blocks and also for watering the plants.

Details	Data	Units
Total area of parks in Bangalore (770 hectares)	77,00,000	Sqm
Number of Parks	1,060	No
Daily water requirement @ 2 lt per Sqm #	154,00,000	lt
Yearly water requirement for 253 days (less rainy days 56*2)	38962,00,000	lt
Average area of each park	7,264	Sqm
Annual potential of Rainwater from each park with collection efficiency of 75%	50,45,951	lt
Water requirement of each park per year	36,75,660	lt
Cost of rainwater harvesting per park (@ Rs 125000=00 for 2500 Sqm)	3,63,208	Rs
# BBMP Bangalore is promoting tree based parks (less of lawn) and organic manure for plants

Harvest Rainwater and a Host of Benefits

Harvest Rainwater and a Host of Benefits

Advantage of Rainwater Harvesting

·       Easy to maintain

·       Reduce water bills.

·       Suitable for irrigation.

·       Reduces demand on ground water.

·       Rain water can be used for a variety of operations.

·       No wasting money on water tankers.

·       No Water shortage due to water cuts.

·       Recover installation cost within 2 – 3 Years due to savings in water bills.

·       Savings of up to 200 liters of water per family in the society per day.

·       Simple designs and concepts.

·       Quick and easy to install.

·       You join the happy family of conservationists.

·       It recharges ground water.

Disadvantage of Rainwater Harvesting

·       Unpredictable Rainfall

·       Initial high cost

·       Regular Maintenance

·       Certain roof types may seep chemicals or Animals droppings

·       Storage limits.

             

50 REASONS TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

50 REASONS TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

• People living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city.

• Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
• On an average 1 in 6 women in India spend 2 hours a day sourcing and collecting water.
• Most illnesses are caused by fecal matter contaminating water.
• More people have a mobile than a toilet in their homes.
• Water consists of three atoms, 2 Hydrogen atoms and an Oxygen atom; they are bond together due to electrical charges.

• The earth is a closed system, similar to a terrarium, meaning that it rarely loses or gains extra matter. The same water that existed on the earth millions of years ago is still present today.
• Water moves around the earth in a water cycle. The water cycle has five parts: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration and surface run-off.
• The total amount of water on the earth is about 326 million cubic miles or 844 million cubic kilometers.
• Of all the water on the earth, humans can use only about one third. Such usable water is found in groundwater aquifers, rivers, and freshwater lakes.
• Almost 70 - 75 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water.
• Much more fresh water is stored under the ground in aquifers than on the earth’s surface.

• Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Wherever it travels, water carries chemicals, minerals, and nutrients with it.
• In a 100-year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.
• Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.
• Water regulates the earth's temperature.
• Water freezes at zero degrees Celcius.
• Water vaporizes at a hundred degrees Celcius.
• Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid.
• Frozen water is 9% lighter than water, which is why ice floats on water.
• When water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water. Hard water is not suited for all purposes water is normally used for.
• Each day the sun evaporates a trillion tons of water.
• A single tree will give off 265 liters of water per day by way of evaporation.
• Roughly 70 percent of an adult’s body is made up of water.
• While the daily recommended amount of water is eight glasses a day, not all of this water must be consumed in the liquid form. Nearly every food or drink provides some water to the body.
• Soft drinks, coffee, and tea, while made up almost entirely of water, also contain caffeine. Caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, preventing water from traveling to necessary locations in the body.
• Flushing the toilet actually takes up the largest amount of water in domestic use.

• By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water weight.
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war does.
• The total amount of water in the body of an average adult is 37 litres.
• Human brains are 75 percent water.
• Human bones are 25 percent water.
• Human blood is 83 percent water.
• Almost 75 percent of a chicken is water.
• Close to 80 percent of a pineapple is water.
• 95 percent of a tomato is water.
• 70 percent of an elephant is water.
• A dripping tap can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.
• A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. If a human body does not absorb enough water dehydration is the result.
• A person must consume 2 litres of water daily to live healthily. Humans drink an average of 75,000 litres of water throughout their life.
• Human beings cannot drink salt water.
• Water regulates the temperature of the human body. If you have caught fever, you should drink lots of water.
• Water removes toxins from the human body.
• Water leaves the stomach five minutes after consumption.
• Less than 1 percent of the water treated by public water systems (such as BWSSB) is used for drinking and cooking.
• It takes 450 litres of water to produce one egg.
• About 25,700 litres of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.
• A total of 1,48,000 litres of water is used to manufacture one car.
• The world's average rainfall is about 850 mm.
• More than half the creatures on the Earth are found under water.