The New Indian Express 07.12.2010
Rainwater harvesting now compulsory
As a result, all the building owners who had installed RWH systems just as a matter of formality will have to upgrade the RWH systems installed in their buildings to avoid getting their water connections disconnected before the deadline, which will be fixed very soon.
According to the BWSSB officials, more than 21,000 building owners out of 54,000 who are identified to own buildings in an area of more than 2,400 sq ft in the city have already installed the RWH systems.
A BWSSB official said, "The purpose of making RWH compulsory was to utilise rain water and thereby conserve the available drinking water, which is becoming scarce, from the available sources. Earlier, when there were no guidelines, we were finding it difficult to convince people to install bigger tanks and tap all the rain water sources to harvest it effectively. Now that it has become mandatory the people will have to install them."
Rain Water Harvesting expert A R Shivkumar said, "We have framed the guidelines to ensure that at least 30 per cent of water obtained by rainfall is utilised. Going by the averages, around 2,23,000 litres of water can be harvested in a 40X60 site when the city receives normal rainfall, which is 970 mm according to the meteorological department. Therefore, if at least the building owners install 4,000 litres capacity tank in a 40X60 tank, at least 1 lakh litres can be utilised."
