Observing World Water Day, experts in the field of water conservation and students from city colleges gathered to discuss the vision for water supply in Madurai by the year 2030, here on Saturday.
At the event conducted by Confederation of Indian Industry - Madurai zone, several retired engineers from Corporation and Public Works Department participated in a brainstorming session on strategies, milestones and action plans to be implemented in the city to save water sources. The discussions focused on rainfall, Vaigai river, tanks, groundwater and waste water. “An action plan must be developed and the progress evaluated every three years,” said S. Chandran, Professor, Civil Engineering department at Thiagarajar College of Engineering. The action plan must be futuristic and must factor in climate change, he said.
M. Dhanabalan, former Technical Director, Indian Water Works Association (IWWA), said that the need of the hour was the use of rainwater to recharge borewells. He said that he had implemented the system at his home and that the TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) level which was 700 had reduced to 200. Sewage must not be let into stormwater drains, he said.
Former City Engineer K. Packiaraman said rooftop rainwater harvesting would help. “Most parts of the core city do not have enough space for rainwater harvesting pits. We tried to enforce this initiative in the city but it failed. We should try rooftop rainwater harvesting instead,” he said. Former PWD Chief Engineer T. Krishnaswamy lamented the status of tanks and drainage systems.
Dr. Chandran suggested that educational institutions and companies benefiting from Vaigai resources could focus on maintaining a stipulated stretch sans dumping of waste.
Many retired engineers with years of experience said that water must be made top priority and policy level changes brought in to aid the efforts. S. Rajmohan, president of CII Madurai Zone, said that inputs from the brainstorming session would be utilised for a ‘Water Summit’ that would be conducted by the organisation. Students from various city colleges who wrote papers on Madurai’s water vision were given mementos.
