Cheruthazham in Kannur makes effective use of well-recharging

KOZHIKODE:    The Cheruthazham grama panchayat in Kannur has set a model in rain water harvesting. The panchayat,  which  once suffered from  water scarcity, has solved the problem by the effective use of well-recharging.  “We imposed a rule that all newly-built houses above 150 square feet require rain water recharging system. Building permits were  issued only if  rain water harvesting system was included in the plan,” said Ms P. Prabhavathi, grama panchayat president.

There are more than 3,000 households in the panchayat having well-recharging system. The ‘Susthira-Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Action’, a Kannur-based NGO working in water management,   is setting up the system.

“We collect the rain water over the roof through a pipe in a filtering chamber adjacent to the well. The filtered water will be sent to the bottom of the well where the water originates,” explains Sunny Aashariparambil,  managing director of Susthira. According to Sunny, a 1,500-square-feet house would receive five  lakh litres of rain water over the roof annually.

“This quantity of water will be channelled to the well without losing a drop. A family needs 500 litres of water for daily use  and the annual usage is 1,82,500 litres. We can store five  lakh litres of water during the monsoon. The water collected through summer showers ensures additional amount of water,”  Sunny said.

The setting up of the recharging system is for a life time at a cost of Rs 12,000. “The only maintenance is to take out the filtering materials annually, clean them  and reinsert them in the chamber,” Sunny says. “Hilly places such as Sreeshtha,  Melathiyidam and  Nattikavu were  facing water shortage. After the introduction of  the well-recharging, the situation has improved. We are for streamlining the system to be  free from water woes,” says Ms Prabhavathi.