Here is how Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents’ Association, Chitlapakkam, saves those precious drops of water.
An appeal
The Association has appealed to all residents to be creative in the use of water, being scrimpy with it to the greatest extent possible, and figuring out how to reuse the water going down the drain.
“During summer, air-conditioners work overtime at every home, and the gray water from the AC units can’t be bad for cleaning purposes (think cars and windows), and it can also go into watering the plants,” says M. Ravi, secretary, Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents’ Association, Chitlapakkam.
A possibility
Waste water generated at the government-installed reverse osmosis water treatment plant in Chitlapakkam, can be better utilised, says Ravi. On an average, an RO purifier generates about three litres of “refuse water” for every one litre of purified water. The water is not fit for drinking or bathing, but can be used for other purposes, which include washing cars, watering plants, mopping floors, rinsing clothes or cleaning and flushing toilets.
An ideas meet
This Saturday (April 6), the Association will hold a session seeking ides and suggestions from residents on how to prevent wastage of water and ways to consume it responsibly.
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Raja Annamalaipuram Residents Association (RAPRA) is one of the groups in Chennai that are proactive in averting a water crisis – the recharge wells they got installed with the help of Sekar Raghavan’s The Rain Centre well ahead of the monsoon is a case in point.
Indubala Ashok, a member of RAPRA, says residents are conscious of the looming water crisis and are geared to tackle it collectively.
For instance, residents are extremely alert when it comes to pipeline breaks and leakages and promptly inform the officials concerned about it.
And their response to a 10-point advisory put out by the Association on how to conserve water, has also been impressive, says Indubala. As they are only partly dependent on private tankers, residents would serve the cause of the common good by following the advisory, individually.
The advisory
Here are highlights of the advisory.
Residents have been urged to use the water used in washing rice, dal, vegetables and fruits to soak soiled dishes or even wash them. They have been asked to avoid dish washers during water shortage.
They have been asked to reduce the number of car washes, as also avoid frequent washing of curtains and sheets, as this would consume a lot of water; to use wastewater from RO purifiers to mop floors and clean toilets.
BANGALORE, 14/04/2012: The Precious drop! taps going dry, ground water level going down to a dangerous deep ( in some places its below 1500 feet). Future of the Bangalore City, the so called high tech city is seem to be very pathetic. Photo: K.Gopinathan
Call for regulation of borewells
K. Viswanathan, secretary of Mylapore Resident Welfare Association Mylapore sounds a word of caution against knee-jerk reaction to water shortage.
“Sometimes, during an extremely difficult water situation, when an open well dries up or there is difficulty in sourcing water through government or private channels, there would be a tendency to see a borewell as a panacea. However, indiscriminate sinking of borewells can create more problems than they solve. Therefore, the government should set a limit to the number of borewells that could be sunk in residential and commercial areas. Digging borewells or open wells may be permitted only on written request and formal approval from the authorities concerned. This is the only way we can ensure that the groundwater table does not dip on account of indiscriminate sinking of borewells,” he says.
Watch out for exploitation
Sunil Jayaram, founder of Chitlapakkam Rising, says, “We are not sure how we are going to cope with the water situation this summer. We are all dependent on private water supply and we pay exorbitant prices for a basic need. Six thousand litres of water used to cost ₹500 until three years ago, but now it ranges from ₹800 to ₹1200. The supply is most often delayed and the drivers tell us that they too are struggling to meet the demand. We don’t know what will happen when all the sources dry up. In Chitlapakkam, we have urged all residents to be vigilant of groundwater exploitation in the locality. Recently, we alerted officials about illegal tapping of water from old and new borewells at a private facility in the neighbourhood. Similarly, we make it a point to inform the officials about water tanks that need repairs and maintenance.”
