“2. Title of the Practice:
Save Water, Save
Life.”
Objectives of the practice:
· To meet the increasing demand of water.
· To reduce the run-off which chokes the drain?
· To raise the underground water table.
· To reduce groundwater pollution etc.
· To
save the water that falls down on earth in the form of rain.
· To
eradicate "water shortage" during the summer season.
· Construction
& Maintenance Plan alongwith rainwater harvesting plan, it will avoid the
huge
loss caused due to erosion which is caused by runoffs.
· To
avoid the adverse effect caused by the flood during the "rainy season"
because of
improper
storage of rainwater.
· To
ensure continuous water supply for our students and laboratories.
· To
fulfill the need of water supply to faculty residing in the Campus.
The
Context:
Water
scarcity is serious problem throughout the world for both urban & rural
community.
Urbanization,
industrial development & increase in agricultural field & production
have resulted in overexploitation of groundwater & surface water resources
and resultant deterioration in water quality. The conventional water sources
namely well, river and reservoirs, etc. are inadequate to fulfill water demand
due to unbalanced rainfall. While the rainwater harvesting system investigate a
new water source. As man became more and more dependent on technology, he moved
away from nature and, perhaps, ignored the value of natural resources. In his
march towards power, he forgot to save the precious water which is another name
for life. The supply of fresh water, in this planet, cannot be increased. So an
alternative method must be sought for. One such method is harvesting rainwater.
The aim to use rainwater and thus taking close to the concept of nature
conservation. The Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting (RRWH) system is working as an
alternative source of water at campus of MNS Government College Bhiwani. We are
maintaining rainwater harvesting system from rooftop catchment area of 3
Teaching Blocks. The outcome of the practice shows that the present RRWH system
is having the storage capacity 400000 liters of water in tanks. The system satisfies
the numerous water requirements of the institution in many ways.
The Practice:
We
have installed a RRWH system at Rooftop Area of our Three Teaching Blocks. Four
major
components
of the system are:–
1.
Roof of about 80000 sq. meters area.
2.
Down pipe connecting the roof and filter
3.
Rainy filter that screens all dust particles.
4.
Underground four storage tanks of 100000 Liter capacities each.
The
rainwater that is collected in the underground storage tanks is pumped back to
a separate overhead tank placed on the roof. Toilet flush tanks in all toilets
have exclusive connection to this storage tank, apart from the taps located in
the laboratories and wash-basins in the teaching blocks. In addition, the
storage tanks have connections to supply the rainwater for nurturing our trees
and plants which are precious assets of our nature and Institution. Though our
institution has municipal water supply connection with sufficient water supply,
yet our intention remains to avoid using such high- quality treated water meant
for drinking purposes for non-consumptive applications requiring lower quality
of water such as flushing toilets, cleaning utensils, watering the plants etc.
A pipe (suction pipe for the pump-set) is inserted to the bottom of the storage
tank (few inches above the bottom of the tank) for pumping the water to the
over-head tank located on the roof. However, pumping is done from a level few
inches above the bottom of tank, but we observed some dust particles settling
at the bottom of the storage tanks most of these particles flock together and
do not move with water pumped to the over-head tank. We manually clean the dust
particles and mud of storage tanks keeping in mind hygiene and cleanliness.
Evidence of success
The
Practice has been implemented to cater the daily needs of water supply at
various units of the institution. All that adverse has been changed after the
setting up with the RRWH System in the institution. The demand/ complaints of
students and faculty members related to water- issues have been minimised
/overcomed. The Institution has a rich infrastructure
of playgrounds, lawns, gardens, trees and plants. As the Rainwater frees
essential elements in the soil for plants to thrive, with rainwater soaking the
soil, the nutrients and minerals present inside are freed so that the roots can
easily absorb them and enable the fast growth. Consequently,
we are able to preserve our rich culture of green-campus through this alternative source of water-conservation i.e. RRWH system.
Problems encountered
Sometimes,
it happens that there is little or no rainfall for a long period, it becomes
difficult for us to manage water resources/reservoirs, and still we try to
manage accordingly. Sometime we encounter the problems of “birds & trees
droppings” on the rooftops which equires
cleanings and maintenance of the roofs at a regular interval of time causing
recurring expenditures.
The Best Practice: “Save Water,
Save Life.”