During the last rains, waterlogging was less and 70 to 80 per cent water is being used
Rainwater harvesting pits made near BBR nagar main road in Chromepet. (Photo:DC)
Chennai: In the last rains when people in the city suffered from inundated roads, residents in five wards under the Pallavaram municipality were dry and even used the rainwater to address their water woes with the dexterous use of rainwater harvesting. Now, residents say they do not suffer from water scarcity. The initiative was kickstarted by residents of Shankarlal Jain street in Chromepet, a quiet, residential area near MIT college.
President of the resident welfare association S. Ramamoorthy says, “All the houses on the street have rainwater harvesting but over the years, we saw the water on the streets being wasted and decided to use it. The area faces water scarcity during summer, during which we have to depend on water tankers.”
The association approached the Rain Centre in the city. Mr Sekhar Raghava, director of the centre, says, “We asked them to build six pits on either side of the street, each with a width of three feet and a depth of 10 feet.” The structure would retain water during heavy downpours and replenish groundwater. Residents further took the idea to the municipality and collected money to build the structure.
The Pallavaram municipality, under which the street comes, not only gave their expertise but went on to make more of it. Commissioner of the municipality, S Ramamoorthy says, “ We identified low-lying areas in five wards and built 30 percolation pits and filled it with pebbles and covered these with slabs. The slabs were perforated with holes small enough to allow only water in.” Two months later, when rains hit the city, streets with pits experienced less of inundation and water was also put into use.
“During the last rains, waterlogging was less and 70 to 80 per cent water is being used. Even our borewells have more water, compared to last year,” says Mr R. Ravi Shankar, secretary of the residents’ welfare association.
Ms Betcy Latha, assistant engineer for the area, says, “We have placed 75 pits in the municipality, and another 22 places have been identified for putting up similar structures.”
( Source : dc )
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