Opinion
ACEARCHITECTURECONSTRUCTIONENGINEERINGUPDATE july 2019 35
but in rural areas as well. They can promote rainwater
harvesting by incentivising housing societies that do
comply, such as by offering a rebate on property tax for
installing a rainwater harvesting system, severely penalise
societies/builders who don’t comply.
Getting it Done - Local Level
As some of the above examples show, local initiative can
fill the gap even if policy and legislature fail at the city
and state level. Individual housing societies take up the
challenge of sustaining themselves through the annual
water shortage. To do this, they must gauge the average
rainfall in their particular area, evaluate how much water
the society typically uses and to what extent it can
depend on rainwater harvesting to meet those needs, and
get their own rainwater harvesting systems in place.
The size of an underground tank will depend on the
following factors:
• Number of family members in the society
• Per capita water requirement
• Average annual rainfall
• Period of water scarcity to ensure even distribution
of water throughout the year
Rainwater Harvesting in Rural Areas
Rooftop rainwater harvesting is among the most common
solutions in rural areas as it is a basic, inexpensive method
requiring minimum expertise for implementation. In this
method, rainwater is collected on the roof and carried
to a storage tank from where it goes to the point of
consumption. This technique is ideal for supplementing
existing water sources which may become brackish or
polluted.Other methods of rainwater harvesting in rural areas
include the gully plug and contour bund methods, as well
as Gabion structures and percolation tanks.Water Shortages WILL Get Worse
It is said that World War III will not be fought for
geographic dominance but solely on the basis of water.
This may sound far-fetched to citizens of more developed
countries. However, in India there are already daily battles
being waged by areas, projects and individuals for access
to this precious resource during summers. The conflict
potential is indubitably high.In such a scenario, state governments and local bodies
must enforce rules on compulsory rainwater harvesting
and impose hefty penalties for non-compliance. This
cannot happen too soon - it must happen now, or India
will eventually lose its own Water Wars.Authored by:
Santhosh Kumar,
Vice Chairman,
ANAROCK Property Consultants