No day passes in the city without a leakage in the drinking water pipeline being reported. Similarly, complaints of sewage water mixing with drinking water are not uncommon here. Piped water supply takes different other manifestations too, like “erratic, low pressure, unequal distribution and supply at odd hours” that makes daily life difficult for many of the residents.
It is common to hear people rue that though the Corporation purifies water to the quality of ‘mineral' water, what the people actually get through their taps on many days is not potable or of poor quality.
For those who try their luck to quench their thirst with the groundwater, the quality of water in many places is quite alarming.
Going by Prof. T. Vel Rajan, of Civil Engineering Department of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, the ground water quality index (WQI), has turned worse than what he categorises as “very poor.” While the WQI between 76 and 100 has been categorised as “very poor,” the quality of groundwater in many pockets was in the range of 120 to 220.
Stating that the geological formation in Madurai per se was not in favour of giving quality ground water, Mr. Vel Rajan says allowing liquid part of the sewage (in areas where underground drainage system does not exist) to enter into the sub-soil system through septic tanks further pollutes the groundwater.
“Even though our drinking water comes from river, we need to be mindful of the activities we do, that may pollute the ground water," he says.
Former Chief Engineer of Madurai Corporation, K. Sakthivel, raises an alarm saying the brick-made manholes in underground drainage system allows seepage of sewage into groundwater.
This was noticed in Duraisamy Nagar and Karpaga Nagar and the only way to arrest it was to use concrete for constructing manholes, he says.
Former TWAD Board Superintending Engineer, S. Kaliyamoorthi, suggests that such problems can be avoided if the authorities go by material consideration and not cost consideration while formulating drinking water or underground drainage schemes. "Using pipelines made of right material will solve such problem, though it may cost higher," he avers.
Dr. Velrajan's study also found that benzene was found in ground water in select areas. The increased benzene content in ground water was not due to petroleum leakages but due to other sources like vehicular emission, industrial effluents and fertilizers. Artificial recharge was the best way to improve ground water quality, he feels. However, the city residents and those living in adjacent areas need not panic over the alarming status of ground water.
Former Chief Engineer of Public works Department, N. Arunachalam, has a simple way to overcome the pressing problem. "Roof top rain harvest" is what he advocates to the residents to keep their water worries at arm's length.
“My family members have never used water supplied through pipes or groundwater for the past 26 years,” he says with a sense of pride.
An expert, who has worked on rainwater harvesting, has set up roof-top harvesting at the PWD Circle office here where, he says, the system has been functioning well for several years, improving not only the groundwater table by seven metres, but also its quality.
He suggests construction of filter tanks (using pebbles and fine sand mixed with charcoal powder) just below the roof and placing the collection tank just below it, so that the rain water could be harvested in the kitchen using gravity. "Such a system gives us not only good health, but also helps in saving electricity," he said. Mr. Arunachalam uses boiled water that is filtered using ordinary candle filters for both cooking and drinking purpose.
75-mm rainfall enough
While Madurai's average annual rainfall was around 880 mm, he says a rainfall of 75 mm was enough to harvest (through a 1,000 square feet of roof top) water that would cater to a family of four for 365 days. People can also convert their sumps to collect rainwater, instead of corporation water, he advises. “None of my family members have kidney stone problem and the quality of water is so good that it has given a longer shelf life for shaving blades,” he says.
Mr. Arunachalam, who is passionate about rainwater harvesting, likens it to the banking system. "My overhead tank is an ATM and the tap at the kitchen is the debit card that can be used anytime. The sump is a savings bank account, the overflowing water that recharges ground water is a fixed account. In a way, it is also a community service by helping neighbours to get good potable water," he says.
An investment of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000 can give life-long solution for potable water, he says.
He wants Madurai Corporation to adopt the system by making it mandatory at least for high-rise apartments.
Mr. Arunachalam can be contacted over 94433 39951.
