Archive for the 'rainwater harvesting' Category

Rainwater structures vital to improve groundwater table

Published on 10/21/2012 in aquifer overdraft, groundwater, hydrology, peak water and rainwater harvesting. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.thehindu.com

“National Cadet Corps of 5th battalion took out a rally at Palayamkottai on Saturday to create awareness among the public on establishing rainwater harvesting structure in every house before the monsoon intensifies.

After being flagged off by Mohamed Sathick, Principal of Sathakkathullah Appa College in Palayamkottai, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Zakhir Hussein spoke on the need for creating rainwater harvesting structures in every house to save every drop of rainwater to improve the groundwater table. Around 150 rallyists from SAC and Christhuraja Higher Secondary School, after traversing Government Law College, District Court Complex, Bell Matriculation Higher Secondary School, reached the college premises again.

NCC Officer of SAC Lt. Syed Ali Basha and Sub. Selvaraj and Sub. Mohanan of 5th battalion and NCC Officer of Christhuraja Higher Secondary School Radhakrishnan had made arrangements for the rally.”

Read more: The Hindu

 

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Gardener: Collecting rainwater

Published on 06/26/2012 in agriculture, rainwater harvesting and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Retrieved from: Herald news

We’ve discussed collecting and storing rainwater before, but let’s revisit the various aspects involved for the benefit of those who are merely curious about the practice or are in serious need of options due to drought and water-rationing.

To that end, this column extensively incorporates material previously covered.

The setup can be as simple as a rain gutter, downspout and barrel. Kits are available from catalogs and the Internet, but you can easily make your own. Before getting started, however, check local building codes to be sure that it’s OK to have rain-collection systems in your area.

First, to keep any debris from the roof from getting into your system, install a wire-mesh or plastic screen over the opening in the gutter where it is connected to the vertical downspout. Next, choose some kind of barrel or tank to collect the water. Many home-improvement stores and garden centers sell 55- to 75-gallon plastic barrels for around $50 to $100. Complete kits, including, leaf screens and downspout connectors, go for $100 to $250. If you use a recycled barrel, select one that’s been used for food storage rather than any kind of chemical.

A typical 1,000-square-foot roof can provide about 500 gallons of water from only 1 inch of rainfall. When the barrels are full, divert the rest of the water away from the house or, better yet, into a rain garden.

Read more: Herald news

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Direct drinking water recycling could prevent floods

Published on 04/18/2012 in dams, management and rainwater harvesting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Rainwater Harvesting

“Direct potable reuse (DPR) of wastewater could free up billions of litres of water from reservoirs around Australia, giving cities a greater buffer to capture and control major flooding events, says Dr Stuart Khan, an at the UNSW Water Research Centre.

“Current plans for water recycling in Australia generally involve Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), where is treated to a high standard and then returned to rivers, lakes and aquifers,  where it mixes with environmental waters before being re-extracted for further treatment.

“But Dr Khan says a better approach, which is more cost effective and less energy intensive, is to skip the dam altogether. With DPR, highly treated wastewater is introduced directly to drinking water treatment plants, without re-entering the natural environment along the way.

“In Queensland alone, DPR would be the equivalent of immediately constructing a new 425-billion litre reservoir, without the cost of construction or having to relocate a single home or farm, says Khan.

“This added ‘virtual’ storage space represents a 30% increase on the volume currently reserved for flood mitigation in this region, his research shows.

“DPR probably would have saved Brisbane from the 2011 floods from Wivenhoe,” he says. “The big inflow peak of around 1900 GL that occurred between 9 and 13 January could have been contained in the dam, rather than spilled.”

Read more:  Phys

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Farmers urged to undertake rainwater harvesting

Published on 03/30/2012 in agriculture, groundwater, rainwater harvesting and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.rubbeirzeit.com

“Farmers are advised to undertake rainwater harvesting in agriculture lands as it would dilute the fluorosis content in the ground water and would improve the ground water table.

Presiding over the farmers’ grievances meeting, Mr. C.N. Maheshwaran, Collector said that to encourage the farmers for creating RWH facilities, the district administration and the agriculture department had developed a model project in mango orchards near Kaveripattinam town in the district.

The scheme, besides diluting the fluorosis content in the water will also prevent soil erosion and improve the moisture content of the soil.

The administration is planning to take the farmers to the model RWH facility near Kaveripattinam before the next grievances meeting.

In the meantime the proposal would be sending to the government for its approval recommending providing subsidy for the farmers. If the government approves the proposal, farmers would be getting over Rs. 8000 per acre, he added.”

Read more: The Hindu

 

lily victoria

Water Sector Options for India in a Changing Climate

Published on 03/21/2012 in agriculture, climate change, dams, hydrology, management, peak water, policy, rainwater harvesting, rivers, solutions and outreach, tap water, water conservation, water shortage and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.washfinance.com

“On the eve of the World Water Day 2012, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP) is happy to publish its new report: Water Sector Options for India in a Changing Climate. The report highlights that for the poorest sections, also most vulnerable in the climate change context, the water, food, livelihood and energy security, closely linked with the environment security, is already getting severely affected in the changing climate. It is well known that water is the medium through which climate change impacts are most dominant. South Asia is considered possibly the most vulnerable region in terms of number of people that would be affected by climate change impacts, and within South Asia, India has the largest vulnerable population. The importance of understanding the Water Sector Options in such a situation cannot be underestimated. The report highlights the options for coping and mitigating climate change challenges in water sector in India.”

Read more: www.sandrp.in

lily victoria

Indian water aggression or genocidal war?

Published on 03/11/2012 in greenwashing, groundwater, hydrology, peak water, policy, rainwater harvesting, tap water, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.defence.pk.com

“Water scarcity and hydrologic scenario:

A 65-year history of water aggression by India, the upper riparian, is genocide in slow motion. Pakistan’s surface flows in the Indus Basin System average I45 MAF annually. However, the Western nallahs/streams that flow basically during the monsoons and can average 5 to 10 MAF, depending on the wet or dry cycles, is not included. It seems that the water mined from underground aquifers, which is around 40 MAF annually, is not really a renewable resource. There is negligible rainwater harvesting in the northern zones of Pakistan. But the south, including Balochistan, is semi-arid or a desert.

In comparison, the Indian federation although very secretive about its water data is, reportedly, having annual surface flows of 750 MAF in its main rivers. The figures for aquifer mining are not available. Since most of the northern, central, eastern and southern India is blessed with extensive precipitation, they have developed sophisticated rain harvesting methods; practiced in the entire northern rim highland states, as well as south India, where they refer to it as “tank irrigation”. Thus, it is a fallacy that Pakistan per capita water availability is close to the Indian average.”

Read more: The Nation

 

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Collecting Rainwater Could Save U.S. Residents $90 Million A Year

Published on 02/22/2012 in hydrology, management, rainwater harvesting and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com

“Simply collecting rainwater could save U.S.residents millions of dollars each year on their water bills and drastically cut down on water consumption.

A new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council examined the potential cost-savings in eight U.S.cities and found that residents could collectively save $90 million or more annually.

With population growth and climate change placing an even greater pressure on existing water supplies, urban rooftop rainwater collection could help mitigate shortages and price spikes in the future. Simple rainwater basins placed on roofs in urban environments could address nearly 80 percent of daily residential water usage for things like washing clothes and flushing toilets.”

Read more: Homeland Security News

 

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Metrowater to monitor groundwater in expanded areas

Published on 01/28/2012 in groundwater, hydrology, management, rainwater harvesting, solutions and outreach, tap water and water conservation. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.thehindu.com

“The monitoring would help in understanding the groundwater level in those areas where rainwater is not being harnessed properly. For this purpose, the water agency is in the process of identifying observational wells.

Creating public awareness of the benefits of rainwater harvesting coupled with good rains over the past few years had improved the groundwater level in the city. Metrowater is expected to adopt a similar strategy to popularise RWH in the suburban areas that were merged with the civic body. The pressure on the water agency would be less if the newly added localities also harness rainwater effectively. The demand for drinking water in the Chennai Corporation limits has increased from 800 million litres a day to around 1,100 mld following the inclusion of the suburban areas.

“In the city, we study the groundwater table during the end of the monsoon as the fluctuations in the level would have settled. Good rainfall for eight years consecutively and proper maintenance of the RWH structures in most buildings has helped sustain groundwater resources,” an official of Metrowater said.”

Read more: The Hindu

 

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Wash. rules to spell out strategies to curb runoff

Published on 10/19/2011 in contaminated water, groundwater, hydrology, management, policy, rainwater harvesting, rivers, solutions and outreach and water filtering. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A "rain garden" is shown in a residential area of Puyallup, Wash., Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Puyallup has installed more than 50 rain gardens to soak up rain and stormwater runoff as a strategy to keep rainwater from washing pollutants into rivers and Puget Sound. Retrieved from: www.seattlepi.com

“SEATTLE (AP) — The city of Puyallup has installed dozens of neighborhood rain gardens to prevent rain from washing pollutants into nearby waterways. Mount Vernon used a type of asphalt that allows rainwater to seep into the ground when it built a new walkway. And Seattle has used roofs planted with vegetation to reduce runoff.

Washington cities and counties have occasionally turned to eco-friendly strategies to keep rain from carrying grease, metals and other toxic pollutants into rivers, lakes and Puget Sound. But low-impact methods, such as using vegetation and cisterns to slow runoff, may soon be a requirement every time someone builds a new development or redevelops property in Western Washington.

State environmental regulators released draft rules Wednesday that spell out exactly how governments should incorporate the strategies to control polluted runoff that can harm fish and water quality.

The draft rules attempt to strike a balance between tackling stormwater pollution while recognizing that local governments are strapped for resources, Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant said Wednesday.

The state was ordered to consider greener strategies by the state Pollution Control Hearings Board after environmentalists sued. The board mandated low-impact methods for the most populous areas in Western Washington. The board also said the state needed to do more to ensure low-impact methods were used in smaller cities in the region.”

Read more: seattle pi

 

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The Prem Rawat Foundation to Aid Relief Efforts in Drought-Stricken Kenya

Published on 09/09/2011 in drought, hydrology, management, rainwater harvesting, solutions and outreach, water filtering and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.tprf.net

“MC will use TPRF funding to assist families in northern Wajir districts, where reports say matters are made more difficult by the remoteness of the pastoral inhabitants in the area. MC organizers say their efforts will focus on the repair and rehabilitation of current water sources, providing clean and safe water, building latrines and offering hygiene education. There are also plans to rehabilitate water catchments, which will help alleviate community conflict over water resources while improving access for both humans and livestock.

United Nations estimates that more than four million Kenyans are among those threatened by starvation (BBC). The UN’s Food Security & Nutrition Analysis Unit anticipates that the situation is likely to persist until at least December. The crisis goes beyond fluctuations in climate, say some experts, because Kenyans have learned to cope with low rainfall throughout their history.”

Read more: Market Watch

 

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