In a bid to draw attention to the reducing water demand, the Chennai Resilience Centre (CRC), a voluntary organisation, has partnered with Metrowater to reach out to residents’ welfare associations (RWAs).
The ‘ValueWater’ campaign was launched online to encourage residents to be more thoughtful in their daily use of water, and it has now targeted RWAs to extend the reach of the campaign.
“Our campaign is targeted at the upper and middle class of the society, who have better access to water. We have come up with 10 tips on how to save water at home. These are simple ones that many may know and yet not practice. If these short-term measures are followed, residents may be able to save a minimum of 20% of their daily water consumption,” said R. Krishna Mohan, chief resilience officer, CRC, a unit of the Care Earth Trust, a biodiversity research organisation. The campaign is also supported by Water as Leverage, an initiative of the Netherlands government.
Some RWAs, like the Federation of OMR Residents Associations (FOMRRA) and Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association, have already approached the CRC to reach out to residents through mail and WhatsApp groups.
“Cultivating ownership of water management is an issue we are battling at OMR that largely has a floating population. This often led to excess water usage. We make use of all opportunities to disseminate awareness on water conservation. We are sharing tips suggested by ‘ValueWater’ in WhatsApp groups. Some associations have put up posters on notice boards. Some have water metering system to measure water use,” said Harsha Koda, co-founder, FOMRRA.
Tips include avoid running washing machines with half loads and water plants with watering used to wash vegetables and grains. “Residents may download the social media tool kit at valuewater.co and share it among their community. They may also take a quiz that assesses water usage habits and also share their ideas for saving water,” Mr. Krishna Mohan said.
