A simple RWH system leads to a turnaround

I am one of those who is managing to survive the current water crisis in Chennai  because of a RWH system I implemented in my  modest independent home in  a Sastri Nagar, almost 15  years ago. Let me explain.

Between 1982 and 1993 my home was blessed with a copious supply of water from the open well and some supply from the Corporation which was erratic and unreliable. Because of poor rainfall in the years 1993/94, when the well water began depleting at a fast rate, I sunk a bore well  which became the main source of water supply for the family. A friend suggested that I try RWH to recharge my well, by channeling the rain water collected on the terrace during rains into the well through PVC pipes, suitably filtered. That did not solve the problem. However during heavy rains my home, lying at a lower level than the road in front, would be surrounded by water one foot high. It would remain stagnant for almost a week. Because of the muck that came in with the water the whole place would stink and also became a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Very often we had to seek the help of the Corporation to pump out the water.

 In 2003, that the AIADMK government made RWH  compulsory for all household in Madras, my friendly architect/engineer came up with a  simple idea to harvest the water surrounding my home during the next  rainy season. He dug holes  on the ground  in the compound of  the house, 3 meters deep in which he embedded  PVC pipes of 6 inches diameter and  filled them with sand & broken granites. These  were placed three meters apart through out the length and breadth of the  compound which had  a concrete flooring. He also dug up a 3ft x 3ft, 3 meters deep shallow gutter covered with a perforated concrete slab in two places in the passage leading to the house- one  near the gate and another at the entrance to the passage from the road. The initiative cost me only Rs 15,000/- in 2004. When the next rain came inundating our  colony  I was pleasantly surprised to see the entire collection of water surrounding my home vanishing into the ground   within 3 to 4 hours. Obviously RWH system was working..In a couple of weeks I had another surprise. The open well which had gone dry for almost 10 years had got recharged and was full to the brim.

However, the total failure of the rains last year has made the open well go dry again  for the last six months.  While we are continuing to enjoy the supply from the bore well  for general purposes,  thanks to the RWH system in place,   we do buy tanker water once a month for our cooking and drinking needs. I am convinced that RWH by every household or building complexes is one of the  lasting solution to the water problem of Chennai, which normally receives adequate  rainfall which are not saved and allowed to drain into the sea.

This article appeared in the Down Town supplement of the Hindu issue dt. 7^th July,2019