A lacklustre monsoon leaves RWH pits dry

Rainwater harvesting structures got massive adoption in city

The water board had gone on a rainwater harvesting drive, Jalam Jeevam, which massively improved the number of structures. (Photo for representational purpose only)

Rainwater harvesting exercise in the city has been largely successful, with residents and business establishments adopting the environmental-friendly scheme. However, the harvesting pits have remained mostly dry throughout the year, with the city receiving very less rainfall, a report done by Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supplies and Sewerage Board pointed out.

According to the report, the number of rainwater harvesting structures multiplied from 56 in 2017 to 3,672 in 2018.

Increase in volume

The volume created for harvesting also increased from 609 cubic meters to 22,032 cubic meters. Together, the structures are capable of recharging 303 cubic meters of water to 7,344 cubic meters of water each rainy day.

“The number of structures increased drastically but rainfall in the city was poor this year. This has left the structures dysfunctional,” said Vijay Kumar Reddy, director (revenue) revenue, HMWS&SB.

If the city had heavy rainfall, at least two summer months starting from March would have been water-rich, with borewells drying up slowly, he added.

The water board had gone on a rainwater harvesting drive, Jalam Jeevam, this year, which massively improved the number of structures.

Rooftop setting

While most buildings in the city had set up percolation pits, some also requested assistance to set up roof-top harvesting facilities.

In this mode of water harvesting, the rainwater which is commonly drained from rooftops into sewage is directed towards outlets connected through a pipe to a storage tank. Water from this tank is drained into trenches, pits or existing open wells or borewells.

Sustainable yield

The government had made it mandatory for construction of rain water harvesting or conservation structures on all premises where the plot area was more than 200 sq. mts, to protect and improve the groundwater level for sustainable yields in the bore wells.

While Jalabhagyam programme in 2017 had created awareness about rainwater harvesting, it is Jalam Jeevam that improved its reach.