Rainwater Harvesting

Abstract:

. I had shared how Megh Pyne Abhiyan through its local partner - Samta in Khagaria (supported by Gramyasheel, Kosi Seva Sadan, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh and Water Action) has been able to collaborate with the district administration to mainstream issues concerning water and sanitation for the flood prone areas.

In Supaul, the district administration requested our local partner, Gramyasheel to write about alternative drinking water practices (appropriate for the district) for a publication - Supaul Zila Ki Smarika, brought out by the district administration. A definite indication of the WATSAN practices being recognized at the local level. Though the collaboration is an ongoing process which would lead to positive results if time, ideas and perseverance are invested appropriately.

 The area's geological, hydrological and climatic facets are studied to arrive at a series of recommendations, which not only include the type of recharge structures and their design but also their location.

The report is divided into 9 chapters which are

It also explains the various laws that have been put in place to increase groundwater replenishment.

. Under the amendment the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is empowered to install rainwater harvesting systems if people do not comply and recover the cost from them.

The quality of drinking water is a vital element of public health and well-being. The most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply is through the use of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer.

WHO guidelines on water quality term these approaches as water safety plans (WSPs), developed to organize, systematize and apply management practices in drinking-water quality.

India is the largest user of groundwater resources in the world. It is estimated that approximately 230 cubic kilometers per year is used annually, this is more than a quarter of the total world consumption from this resource.

It is in this context that this World Bank report looks at the reasons for this quantum of groundwater usage.

The report delves into socio-economic and political reasons and looks at policies which inadvertently promote so much extraction. The report also analyses various attempts to manage this resource. These attempts range from government and international agency efforts directed to grassroots mobilisations. Finally the report comes out with suggestions to deal with this crisis.

Aurangabad, a city in central Maharashtra is in a drought prone region, and being a rapidly urbanising town, is facing a lot of pressure on ots water resources. Besides importing water there has been an increasing trend of ground water extraction.

In this context, a survey of groundwater use was conducted as part of a World Bank study on Indian groundwater management. The study was a collaboration between GW MATE(Groundwater Management Advisory Team) and GRASP (Grass Roots Action for Social Participation), an Aurangabad-based civil society organization working on community-based natural resource management.

This study provides interventions to solving the sanitation crisis in the holy town of Pandharpur, situated on the banks of the Chandrabagha/Bhima river, in the state of Maharashtra, which receives more than 1.5 crore devotees annually. On any given day there are approximately 20,000 pilgrims in this Class B town. This vast floating population creates massive sanitation problems leading to environmental and hygiene issues.  The study forms part of the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board's 'Environmental Improvement Programme at Religious Places in Maharashtra' project.