The Times of India  27.08.2010

Metrowater chants harvesting mantra to save rainwater

CHENNAI: With the rains lashing the city, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has started areawise awareness programmes on maintenance of rain water harvesting (RWH) structures.

The training programme was inaugurated on Tuesday by the CMWSSB managing director Shiv Das Meena at Royapuram. On Thursday, a training session was conducted in Kilpauk metrowater office. Residents from surrounding areas like Kolathur and Kilpauk attended. RWH expert Sekar Raghavan also gave tips on maintaining RWH structures.

"In 2003, when the government made it mandatory for houses to install RWH structures everyone abided. But not much awareness is there about maintaining them," said Subramanian, a hydro-geologist with the CMWSSB.

Some of the maintenance tips are cleaning the roof top, ensuring that there are no blocks or cracks in the rainwater pipes, cleaning the percolation pit, ensuring that the rainwater reaches the recharge well and removing the silt and debris in the recharge well.

"The city witnesses two monsoons -- South-West between June to September -- and North-East. Earlier, we used to hold awareness camps before the North-East monsoon alone, but now we will hold them in two phases: one before the South-West and one prior to the North-East monsoon," said Subramanian.

He said that one important aspect that has to be considered before setting up a RWH is the depth at which soil is found. "Some areas are clayey, some rocky and some have sand. The residents have to make sure that the pipeline should run deep enough to reach the soil so that it can absorb the water," he said.

If rainwater is harvested, ground water level would increase. "Chennai is near the sea and does not have any perennial rivers to rely upon. So it is important that we raise the ground water level," he said.