HMR to harvest rainwater

300 structures to be built along the rail lines

The rainwater harvesting structure being constructed by HMR.

Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMR) on Sunday announced it is constructing 300 rainwater harvesting structures across the three corridors where the project is being built in the twin cities as part of its efforts to arrest the depleting ground water table and help prevent water stagnation on roads.

The structures are being taken up under the ‘Jalam Jeevam’ project, which is being piloted by the IT and Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao. HMR is coming out with an innovative model with the help of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), said HMR MD N.V.S. Reddy. The work took off after the low-lying road points in the metro rail corridors and water stagnation points were identified.

About 100 such structures with injection borewells are being built on the road edges, while another 200 would be built without the injection borewells. It will involve drilling a six inch diameter perforated injection pipe with PVC casing to a depth of about 150 feet with a rainwater harvesting structure constructed around it.

The structure, costing ₹1.5 lakh, are 14 feet long and eight feet wide. It is eight feet deep and filled with 75 mm and 40 mm broken granite stones in two layers. Coarse sand is then spread over the granite metal stones.

A wall is constructed around this rectangular pit and the ‘well’ is covered with a concrete slab at the road level to withstand movement of vehicles atop. Sufficient gap is left between the filled up portion of the rainwater well and the perforated RCC slab to hold up to 5,000 litres of water — which is the same capacity as a water tanker — at any point of time. The rainwater would get sucked to underground layers through the injection borewell.

Along with improving the existing storm water drains by desiltation, new storm water drains are being constructed on a large scale, said Mr. Reddy. Injection borewells are being built along the metro corridors at Miyapur, JNTU, Kukatpalli, Punjagutta, Irrummanzil, Khairatabad, Ameerpet, Maduranagar, Malakpet, Dilsukhnagar, Narayanaguda, RTC ‘X’ roads, he explained.