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WATERWATERCatalyst

A P LA TFORM FOR PEOPL E, PROJECTS & PROGRESS

FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MARCH 2007

Safe Drinking WaterRain Water Harvesting

Facing the Water CrisisWaste Water ManagementIndia Water Portal

Water Bond


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compiled by Ms. Shivangini Tandon, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, USA.


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TEAMCATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

0 3

EDITORIAL TEAMDr. Bhamy V. ShenoyChief [email protected]

Ms. Bharati KalasapudiMr. Nasy SankagiriMs. Aarti IyerMr. Lakshman KalasapudiMs. Padmaja AyyagariMr. Rajesh Satyavolu

Dr. Srinivasa Rao (Editor)[email protected]

Advisory BoardDr. Thomas AbrahamDr. Nirupam BajpaiDr. Suri SehgalMr. M. ChittaranjanDr. Rao V.B.J. Chelikani

Editorial BoardDr. Abraham [email protected]

Dr. Ratnam [email protected]

Mr. Anil [email protected]

Mr. Ram [email protected]

Mr. Balbir Mathur

[email protected]

Mr. Yogi [email protected]

Dr. Raj [email protected]

Dr. Viral [email protected]

Ms. [email protected]

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressedherein by authors are not necessarilythose of Catalyst for Human

Development magazine, its Staff orEdit or, and they assume noresponsibility for them. Catalyst

accepts no responsibility, directly orindirectly, for the views and opinionsexpressed by t he authors as well as

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M ISSIONM ISSIONTo present people, ideas, news and views periodically to

readers to promote networking among NGOs.

To publish peer reviewed professional articles on NGO movementthat can promote sustainable development and best practices.

To disseminate information on NGO movement to improvecommunication that in turn can catalyze human development.

To provide a platform for all concerned with sustainabledevelopment to catalyze the process of human development.

Published by:Dr. Vasundhara D. Kalasapudi

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An insight into the complexproblems of development and an

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CatalystFOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT


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HIGHLIGHTS OF JANUARY '06 ISSUE

u S caling u p P rim ary E du catio n S ervices in R u ral India

u H ealthcare in India

u W ater Managem ent in 21 st C entu ry - P o licy and P lanningu F o o d and N u tritio n Thro u gh V alu e Additio n to Agri R eso u rces

u S caling u p P rim ary H ealth S ervices in R u ral India

u C ro ss- F ertiliz atio n N eeded B etw een U niversities & S cientif ic L ab s

u B alasak hi - A V illage V o ice

u N R I P io neers - C ataly tic Agents f o r D evelo pm ent

TITLE PAGES OF FIRST FOUR ISSUES OF CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

HIGHLIGHTS OF APRIL '06 ISSUE

u Agenda F o r the N atio n: An Appro ach

u E co no m ic R ef o rm s in India - The U nf inished Agendau A V illager' s Agenda F o r a H ealthy India

u C o nsu m er Mo vem ent - An Agenda

u India' s D evelo pm ent - Agenda f o r N R Is

u S to p C hild P o verty

u C o u ld O u r C lassro o m s S hape India' s D estiny

u U nscru pu lo u s N G O s are D enting Mo vem ent

HIGHLIGHTS OF OCTOBER '06 ISSUE

u S caling u p P rim ary E du catio n S ervices in R u ral Indiau H ealthcare in India

u W ater Managem ent in 21 st C entu ry - P o licy and P lanning

u F o o d and N u tritio n Thro u gh V alu e Additio n to Agri R eso u rces

u S caling u p P rim ary H ealth S ervices in R u ral India

u C ro ss- F ertiliz atio n N eeded B etw een U niversities & S cientif ic L ab s

u B alasak hi - A V illage V o ice

u N R I P io neers - C ataly tic Agents f o r D evelo pm ent

HIGHLIGHTS OF JANUARY '07 ISSUE

u N o n R esident Indians' co ntrib u tio ns - Answ ering a C all to Atio n

u E lim inating E lephantiasis and W aterb o rne D iseases

u Asso ciatio n f o r India' s D evelo pm ent - Im pro ving L iteracy in R u ral India

u L eading India to w ard Millenniu m D evelo pm ent G o als

u H o w C an N R Is H elp in P o verty Alleviatio n

u Is Mega P hilanthro py G o ing to Mak e a D if f erence?

u N o b el P eace P riz e 2006 - Mu ham m ad Y u nu s

u Indian N atio nal D evelo pm ent C o ngress


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CONTENTSCATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

0 7

P R E F A C E

08h Preface by Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy

W A T E R

10h

Case Study of Bhavani River Basin12h Safe Drinking Water in Villages: A Step

towards Rural Transformation

15h Rain Barrels Catalyze Water Harvesting

17h Empowering Indian Communities to Face

the Water Crisis

19h WaterHealth International Partners with

Community Leaders and NGOs to Bring

Clean Water to India's Underserved

23h Rainwater Harvesting in India

25h The India Water Portal

28h Odyssey of an NGO: Lessons to Be Learnt

30h 'Oorani'- Rain Water Harvesting for Villages

32h Pala Thulli - Community Wide Rain Water

Harvesting

33h Integrated Water Systems Management in

South Asia - A Framework for Research

34h The Benefits of WaterPartners

International's Water Credit Initiative

36h Innovative Approaches to Water Projects

in India

38h IIM Kozhikode Runs on Rainwater

39h China's Water Crisis

W A S T E M A N A G E M E N T

41h Benefits of Using Wastewater in the

Production of Agricultural Products

42h Promoting Effective Waste Management:

The Clean Himalaya Init iative

N G O A C T I V I T Y

54h

Meeting Reports

P O R T R A I T

57h Portrait of Dr. K.L. Rao

E S S A Y

58h Water Bond for Safe Drinking water, Essay

by Dr. Srinivasa Rao

W A T E R

18 hWater Wars:National Problems

from a RegionalPerspective

21 hRain Centre inChennai, India

W A T E R R I G H T S

40 hGet Real, Coke:Water RightsProtest

C A S E S T U D Y

45 hGravity Head Ensuresa Green Plant andSustainabil it y: ACase Study of

Gangtok City

47 hSustainable RuralWaterManagement - AReplicableCase Study

S O C I A L C O N T R I B U T I O N S

44 hExamples ofSocial Contributionfrom IIT MadrasAlumni


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PREFACECATALYSTFOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

08

While severa l aspects of India's multi dimensional water crisis have been discuss ed

in this issue of Catalyst, there are many which remain conspicuous by their

abs ence. Becaus e of the interes t of the Pres ident Abdul Kalam, the Supr eme Court

and t he political class , interlinking of rivers has been put on the n ational agenda .

Privatization or corporatization of water distribution system versus status quo under the

inefficient and often corr upt a dministr ative set up of local bodies is a nother cr itical issu e.

Productivity of using water for growing differen t crops a nd optimum way of allocating wat er

for growing different crops, supplying water as free good versus collecting full or partial

cost of supplying, supplying at least 50 liters per person per day of clean water to all and

resolving interstate water conflicts are some of the other water related issues remain

uncovered in this issue.

Thousands of NGOs are involved with water issues. But most are involved often in the non

controversial projects like water har vesting or development of low cost technology to r eusewaste water. It is because of this, most of our articles may be dealing with this aspect of

water crisis.

No substa nce is more valuable than water , but none is likely to be more free. In Wealth of

Nations, Adam Smith has referred to this phenomenon as "Diamond-water paradox". We all

know tha t a ny good that is available for free is likely to be misus ed. Still it is difficult to find

NGOs who have the cour age to convince the govern ment to pr ice water e ither in r esidential

sector for drinking purpose or agricultural sector for producing food crops. In the case of

power sector, at least the central government having realized the folly of giving free power

to farmers ar e as king the stat e government t o change their policy. But in the case of water,

no political party has dared to take this up.

Becaus e of free power, farmers ar e depleting ground water a t frightening rate. Bore wellsar e going deeper. As wells go deeper , ars enic and s altwater can begin to seep in. Already in

Punjab bra ckish wate r ha s infiltrate d in several places. There ca n be no two opinions on the

need to support farmers and so also the poor who are below the poverty line. At the same

time, studies after studies have shown that subsidies do not reach the intended

beneficiaries. In this case these subsidies have created huge problems. Free power along

with free water ha s given rise to water short age sometimes on a semi permanent bas is.

Unlike ener gy security which is a well recognized issue by the government, wat er security

has not yet got the a ttention it des erves in India. Contamination of water is caus ing havoc

throughout India causing tota lly avoidable illness like diar rhoea and sometimes even killing

people. India's NGO movement need to take this problem on a war footing since the

government machinery is totally incapable of solving it despite having many laws and

regulations.

History has shown that from the time of Sumeria water has been a principle source of

conflicts between nations. We in India have started to see the first signs of water conflict

between states in recent years. These can result in constitutional crisis. At this issue goes

to press, Karnataka is in turmoil because of the Kaveri Tribunal's award going against it.

We are likely to see more such conflicts in the future. We need to develop a sound

methodology to sett le such inter sta te water problems in a more objective a nd s cientific way

keeping as ide the political and emotional factors.

Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy


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10/60

WATERCATALYSTFOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

10

IN INDIA, like in many other developing countries inSouth Asia, water scarcity and deterioration in waterquality threaten the basics of food security and the

foundation of society. Increase in population, escalatedcompetition from urbanization, growing urban-ruralconflicts over water, over-exploitation of ground water,frequent droughts and floods are the major watermanagement issues that the country faces. Managingcompeting demands from irrigation, urban and ruraldrinking, industrial sectors and minimum flows for

environmental purpose, has become a major challenge in21st century. The existing system of sectoralarrangements for water management is no longeradequate, and there is an urgent need for an integratedapproach to deal with these challenges. Integrated WaterResources Management (IWRM), through River BasinOrganisations (RBOs), is the main strategy advocated forachieving better water management and sustainabledevelopment of natural resources. It is also emphasizedas one of the means of achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goal (MDG) of reducing poverty.

IWRM and River Basin Management (RBM) in India -

Policy IssuesIndia accepted IWRM and RBM as a strategy for waterresources development in 1992 following the Dublinconference. However, the progress on this was dismaluntil 1998, when the Government of India appointed acommittee to recommend ways and means forIntegrated Water Resources Planning and Development.The committee recommended the river basin as a unit forIntegrated Water Resources Planning and Development.

The National Water Policy, 2002 also emphasized theimportance of river basin management. It left the scopeand power of the basin organisations to be decided bythe states themselves. Most of the rivers in India areinter-state in nature, and hence, there is a need for acomprehensive approach to address the many issues ofriver basin management. However, in practical terms, theexperience in RBM is very limited and the country has togo a long way in realizing the benefits of IWRM throughRBM.

India has few RBOs and all of them are managed bythe State. They are not functioning well due to excessive

control by the State, and the interests of stakeholders,especially the poor, are hardly represented in themanagement. Given this, it is necessary to explore thescope for an alternative bottom-up approach thatinvolves stakeholders. This article analyses theopportunities and constraints for such an approach in theBhavani river basin in South India.

Case Study of Bhavani River Basin

Bhavani is an important tributary of the Cauvery River inits mid-reach in Tamilnadu. The river originates from theSilent Valley forest of Kerala, and flows in the south-eastern direction for 217 kms. The total area of the

Bhavani river basin is 6000 sq km, a major portion (87%)of which is situated in Tamilnadu (See Map 1).

The 'Lower Bhavani Project' (LBP) is a multi-purposereservoir project, constructed mainly for water storageand distribution to canal systems in the basin. Thereservoir is also used for hydel power generation andfishing. Apart from this, water diversion dams, viz.Kodiveri and Kalingarayan, divert water into differentcanal systems that have existed for centuries. The Upperpart of the basin is not well developed and dependsmostly upon ground water and rain for agriculture. The

DR. A. RAJAGOPAL is a DevelopmentEconomist with a Ph.d from Centre For

Development studies, Trivandrum affiliated

to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.Since 1991 he has been working on a number

of policy issues in water resources

management. Presently he is ExecutiveDirector of SaciWATERs (South Asian

Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies),

Hyderabad.

Case Study of Bhavani River BasinIntegrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is the need of the hour and River Basin Organisations (RBOs)

are using t his for bett er water management and sustainable development of natural resources.This article highlights lessons learnt from the Bhavani River Basin Action Research Project.

Map 1 Location of the Bhavani river

basin in the Indian sub continent


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WATERCATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1 1WATERCATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1 1

mostly upon ground water and rainfor agriculture. The river plays animportant role in the economy ofCoimbatore and Erode districts byproviding water for agriculture, drinking,industrial purposes and for over alleconomic development. Due to anincrease in population, unplannedexpansion in the command area, andincrease in the demand for domestic andindustrial water supply, the basin isalready 'closing' and stressed. There isintense competition among water usersand a sizeable gap between demand andsupply in the agriculture and domesticsectors.

There are conflicts between the old

settlers and the new command farmersregarding water use in the basin. Under the 'riparianprinciples', the old 'ayacutdars'- command farmers - wereentitled to 11 months water supply for growing two orthree paddy crops or annual crops like sugarcane, bananaetc, whereas the new 'ayacut' farmers could only grow asingle paddy crop or a dry crop like maize in a year. Aslong as water supply in the dam was adequate, theconflict was not pronounced. However, in 2002 thesupply was at an all time low and water was not releasedto the new command areas at all. This prompted the new'ayacutdars' to file a case in the High Court seeking watersupply for at least one crop. The court asked the

Government to prepare a compromise formula forsharing water among farmers, but this was rejected bythem, Negotiations organized by local politicians alsofailed. The court, in its interim order, has asked the Stateto obtain its permission before opening the dam eachseason. Thus, the conflict situation led to the interventionof the court in the operation of the reservoir, instead ofthe normal procedure of operation by the IrrigationDepartment.

There is also a conflict between upstream and downstream users of the water in the basin. Many upstreamusers have resorted to direct pumping from the river andthis has resulted in a court case by the down stream

farmers. Thus, it is seen that farmers have increasinglyresorted to legal remedies rather than their ownnegotiated efforts. There are also other issues in basinwater management such as increase in demand for waterfor domestic and industrial uses, and the problem ofpollution of the water by industries. Farmers affected bypollution have sought legal remedies and have got closedsome of the polluting textile and chemical units, whichhas affected employment opportunities in the area.

Importance of Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue (MSD)

Approach

The basin water management situation has becomeprecarious due to the uncoordinated actions ofstakeholders. Based on our studies and meetings withdifferent stakeholders (organized by SaciWATERs andTamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore), werealized the need for involving the stakeholders in theefforts of the State in addressing the issues of waterresources management in an integrated manner.Consequently, we organized a Multi-StakeholdersDialogue meeting in 2005 wherein farmers, NGOs,government departments, industrialists, social activists,

etc. discussed various issues. In that meeting, thestakeholders agreed to establish a forum to discuss theseissues further rather than resorting to court cases andagitations. The work of the forum, which is likely tobecome an RBO in the future, continues.

Lessons from the experience: The action research inthe Bhavani basin has brought out the following lessons:l There is a need for coordinated action by the State inplanning for the development of water resources in anarea and the river basin offers the scope for suchplanning as a logical -hydrological unit.l Stakeholders increasingly resort to legal courses (whenthey lack faith in the existing mechanism) that are costly

and time consuming.l The role of an external party, as an unbiased facilitator,is important in building confidence among differentstakeholders in undertaking stakeholders' dialogues.l Stakeholders gain faith in the process of dialogues andnegotiated settlement of problems only when theparticipation of the State is assured.l The 'bottom-up approach' needs to be built up as a partof the State programme on a large scale.

Dr. A. RajagopalEmail: [email protected]

Map 2;Bhavani basin map with

rivers and t ributaries


12/60

WATER, ONEof nature's most important gifts tomankind, is an essential element to goodhealth. Though 70% of the earth's

geographical area is covered by water, only 1% of it ispotable, the rest being unsafe for consumption. Naturalwater sources, especially rivers, canals, ponds, wells, etc.are being exploited, mistreated and contaminated,

making drinking from them unsafe. Unlike in the inlandareas, in delta regions, an adequate quantity of water ismade available for drinking purposes, often throughirrigation canals and sometimes through subsurfacesources. Over the years, however, the canal water hasbecome highly polluted with presence of physical andchemical impurities, as well as harmful bacteria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported thatmore than 1.1 billion people across the globe draw waterfrom unsafe sources, causing widely spread diseases likediarrhoea. Nearly 70% and 80% of these people live inrural areas. It is difficult to control the quality of drinkingwater even in the most developed countries, and small

community water supplies frequently fail on basicmicrobiological quality and other physical impurities, like,suspended solids in case of surface water, and totaldissolved solids (TDS) mostly in ground water.

The Byrraju Foundation, a not-for-profit organisationdedicated to rural transformation, has embarked uponproviding safe drinking water, conforming to WHO'sstandards, and improving the quality of life in 156villages. In most of these villages, tests conducted on theavailable water indicated failure in meeting the drinkingstandards, even after filtration and chlorination. Toaddress this issue, the Foundation concluded that oneviable option was to separate the drinking water from the

rest of the water supplied through Rural Water Supply(RWS) scheme in villages.

Foundation's Efforts Towards Provision Of Safe

Drinking Water in the Villages

The Foundation is presently working across EastGodavari, Guntur, Krishna, Ranga Reddy, Visakhapatnamand West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, directlyimpacting over million people, and over double thatnumber indirectly. Its interventions are in the fields ofhealthcare, education, adult literacy, water environment,

sanitation, agri-advisory services and livelihoods. Thevision for the water programme is to provide safedrinking water, as per WHO standards, in all theparticipant villages.

Supply of Drinking Water in Villages

Improvement in the quality of drinking water significantly

benefits the health and well being of people. 63% ofvillages the Foundation is working in are dependent onirrigation canals, while the remaining 37% are dependenton ground water. Under RWS Scheme, most of thevillages, especially in delta region, have a pond, fed bythe irrigation canal at regular intervals, and storing therequired quantity of water. The water in the pond ispassed through slow sand filters (SSF) followed bychlorination and pumping into an overhead tank fordistribution through a system of pipes.

The quality of raw water in the pond is extremelypoor, resulting in frequent clogging of SSFs, which aredesigned for the raw water turbidity up to 30 NTU.

However, the actual turbidity is much higher, especiallyduring the monsoons, going up to 130 NTU. The SSFsare designed for 16 hours operation, with 3-phasepower, so as to supply 40 litres of treated water percapita per day. The 3-phase power is only available for 6-7 hours a day in most of the villages, making it necessaryto pump untreated water as well. Furthermore, lack ofadequate funds does not allow proper maintenanceof the SSFs.


1 2

DANDU RADHA PRASADA RAJU holds

doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineeringjoined the Government of India two decades

ago. Presently, while holding the position of

Adviser in Department of Science andTechnology, he is on sabbatical for over 3

years with Byrraju Foundation, an NGO

dedicated to rural transformation, workingin 172 villages across 6 districts of Andhra Pradesh, impacting

a million people. His association with Byrraju Foundation

resulted in setting up of a number of community based waterplants, in public private partnerships, providing safe drinking

water in 130 villages on sustainable basis. Byrraju Foundationhas been awarded 'Best Water NGO-Water Quality' in Indiaduring 2006-07 by Water Digest and UNESCO.

Safe Drinking Water in Villages:

A Step Towards Rural TransformationThis article highli ghts the system adopted by Byrraju Foundation t o provide safe drinking water in vi llages.The Foundation set up ' Sujala' water treatment plants in over 45 vil lages through publ ic-private partnerships.


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1 3

Tests on water samples from 153 villages of WestGodavari, East Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and RangaReddy districts, supplied through RWS scheme, afterfiltration and chlorination, indicated the presence ofcoliform, turbidity, chlorides and other physical andchemical impurities. It was observed that 78% of thesamples did not meet the safe requirements on accountof the above parameters. If the need for 0.2 ppm ofresidual chlorine is also considered, 96% villages failed in

meeting such norms. In case of upland areas, whichdepend on ground water, high levels of TDS, includingfluorides, in excess of WHO norms, were observed.

Foundation's Initiatives in Supply of Pure Drinking

Water

In order to reduce the levels of pollution in the irrigationcanals, various initiatives like treating and diverting liquidwaste into the drainage canals, converting solid wasteinto compost manure, burying dead animals, and so on,must be followed. Addressing these issues is a gigantictask, requiring a lot of resources, time and effort. Whenthe Foundation highlighted the bad condition of SSFs, the

Government made a one-time intervention, taking verylimited measures in terms of repair and maintenance.However, realising the problems, the Foundationdeveloped a strategy to address the situation.

Strategy for the Supply of Pure Water

Out of 40 litres per capita per day supplied by RWS,about 2 litres - 5% of the total - are used for drinking andneed to be supplied to the villages. Since it is much easierto raise 5% of the water to drinking standards ratherthan the entire quantity, the Foundation came up with

the idea of setting up one plant for every three villagesproducing 1000-2000 litres of pure water an hour, to beoperated by trained youth from the villages, who ensuresustainability by collecting user charges. The quality ofthe produced water is strictly monitored and local ScienceColleges are involved in regular testing and controls.

A pilot plant, named Sujala, was set up in July 2004 ina village called Gollalakoderu (near Bhimavaram in WestGodavari district), jointly supported by Gram Panchayat,

Village Community and Byrraju Foundation. Based on itssuccess and the responses from other villages, 45 plantshave been set up (as on March 2007) in as many villageson Public-Private Partnership model.

A schematic diagram outlining the purification systemis given above with a period.

Operation and Maintenance of Sujala plants

In order to ensure 100% satisfactory performance of theSujala plants, the quality of input water is checkedthoroughly for various parameters like turbidity, physicaland chemical impurities, and bacteria, on a continuousbasis. Based on the levels of impurities and bacteria, the

process parameters are set for effective removal of thesame. To overcome the power-cuts, the plant is operatedon single-phase for 12-16 hours a day on flexible timings,using voltage stabilisers for maintaining quality of thepower. 100% standby for all the critical components, likepumps, motors, UV lamps, voltage stabilisers, multi-portvalves and adequate stocks of consumables are ensured.Annual maintenance contract is entered into, initially for5 years, with the suppliers of the plant to ensure troublefree operation. For every 5 Sujala water plants, amaintenance team, deployed within close vicinity of the

(In case of conventional treatment, membranes, high pressure pump and softner are not needed)


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WATER, ONEof nature's most important gifts tomankind, is an essential element to goodhealth. Though 70% of the earth's

geographical area is covered by water, only 1% of it ispotable, the rest being unsafe for consumption. Naturalwater sources, especially rivers, canals, ponds, wells, etc.are being exploited, mistreated and contaminated,making drinking from them unsafe. Unlike in the inlandareas, in delta regions, an adequate quantity of water ismade available for drinking purposes, often throughirrigation canals and sometimes through subsurfacesources. Over the years, however, the canal water hasbecome highly polluted with presence of physical andchemical impurities, as well as harmful bacteria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported thatmore than 1.1 billion people across the globe draw waterfrom unsafe sources, causing widely spread diseases likediarrhoea. Nearly 70% and 80% of these people live in

rural areas. It is difficult to control the quality of drinkingwater even in the most developed countries, and smallcommunity water supplies frequently fail on basic

microbiological quality and other physical impurities, like,suspended solids in case of surface water, and totaldissolved solids (TDS) mostly in ground water.

The Byrraju Foundation, a not-for-profit organisationdedicated to rural transformation, has embarked uponproviding safe drinking water, conforming to WHO'sstandards, and improving the quality of life in 156villages. In most of these villages, tests conducted on theavailable water indicated failure in meeting the drinkingstandards, even after filtration and chlorination. Toaddress this issue, the Foundation concluded that oneviable option was to separate the drinking water from therest of the water supplied through Rural Water Supply(RWS) scheme in villages.

Foundation's Efforts Towards Provision Of Safe

Drinking Water in the Villages

The Foundation is presently working across East

Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Ranga Reddy, Visakhapatnamand West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, directlyimpacting over million people, and over double thatnumber indirectly. Its interventions are in the fields ofhealthcare, education, adult literacy, water environment,sanitation, agri-advisory services and livelihoods. Thevision for the water programme is to provide safedrinking water, as per WHO standards, in all theparticipant villages.

Supply of Drinking Water in Villages

Improvement in the quality of drinking water significantlybenefits the health and well being of people. 63% of

villages the Foundation is working in are dependent onirrigation canals, while the remaining 37% are dependenton ground water. Under RWS Scheme, most of thevillages, especially in delta region, have a pond, fed bythe irrigation canal at regular intervals, and storing therequired quantity of water. The water in the pond ispassed through slow sand filters (SSF) followed bychlorination and pumping into an overhead tank fordistribution through a system of pipes.

The quality of raw water in the pond is extremelypoor, resulting in frequent clogging of SSFs, which aredesigned for the raw water turbidity up to 30 NTU.However, the actual turbidity is much higher, especially

during the monsoons, going up to 130 NTU. The SSFsare designed for 16 hours operation, with 3-phasepower, so as to supply 40 litres of treated water per

Prasada RajuEmail: [email protected]:

Stat istics on wat er:

WaterPartners International http://www.water.org/resources/waterfacts.htm

Aquastat http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/aquastat/main/index.stm

Byrraju Foundation: http://www.byrrajufoundation.org/villagesfaq.htm

Statistics: htt p://ww w.unicef.org/w es/index_statistics.html

Cost of Sujala Plant:1. Cost of building(civil construction) 500 sq feet : Rs 300,000

2. Plant and machinery :

a.Conventional UV process

(TDS in raw water 500 ppm) : Rs 500,000

Requirement of Infrastructure:Connected load (single-phase): 5 KW (for RO plant), 3 KW

(non-RO plant)

Land (for building) : 1500 sq f t (near main watersource of Gram Panchayat)

Ecomo mics of Operatio n:

a. Rated capacity of plant : 1000 litres per hour

(output-RO process)

b. Number of hours of operation : 7 hours

c. Production of pure water : 6500 litres a day

(minimum/average)

d. Distribution of water : 6000 litres a day

(minimum/average)

e. Expenditure (per month): : Rs 17500

- Emoluments/wages : Rs 7500

(operator/helper- 3 persons @Rs 2500 pm)

- Power (Rs 4 per unit , 20 units a day) : Rs 2500

- Consumables : Rs 2000

(alum, chlorine, detergent, filters, etc)

- Annual maintenance charges : Rs 2000

- Depreciation : Rs 2000

- Incidental expenses : Rs 1500

f. Collection of user charges(@12.5 paise a litre): Rs 22500

g.Surplus : Rs 5000

The facility of levying concessional tariff for consumption of power, as

allowed to Public water Schemes in villages, usually 10% of normal rate

as mentioned above, reduces the charges for running of plant making the

unit break-even at 5300 litres of water distributed a day.


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15

The potential of rainwater harvesting has been muchtalked about in recent times. But that an ordinaryplastic water storage drum, connected to the roof

through a pipe, can harvest water is a fact that manycitizens in the Bangalore-Mysore region of India findsurprising.

The Rainwater Club of Bangalore is an organizationintent on disseminating information on rainwaterharvesting. It is run by S.Vishwanath, a water activist ofinternational repute. When Vishwanath showed a smallplastic drum that collects rainwater to a team of womenslum dwellers of Chamarajpet, Bangalore, they

exclaimed, "Ishtena, ishtena?" (Is it this simple, thissimple?).These women will now install rainwater tanks in at

least 200 houses with the help of a local NGO,Rayapuram Development Society.

On another occasion, a Gram Panchayat memberfrom Anekal was so moved by this simple idea that heimmediately decided to build a 10,000 litre RainwaterStorage tank in his village.

This system, presented to the slum women and GramPanchayat member, is called a 'Rain Barrel', "A simple wayfor people to start harvesting rainwater", according toVishwanath.

Most people are not aware of how much rainwaterpours on their house-site or campus, and are notpsychologically prepared to accept such water as potable."It is this entry barrier that is most difficult to break",opines Vishwanath. Here the rain barrel comes in handy,easing away the mental block, and serving as a catalystfor rainwater harvesting.

The rain barrel system is based on an ordinary plasticrainwater storage drumavailable anywhere. Thecapturing area (roof orterrace) is cleaned onceat the beginning of the

monsoon. Due to thegravitational pull, therain that falls on theroof reaches the drumthrough a PVC downpipe. For convenience,the rain barrel is placedon a platform 18 inchesabove the ground tofacilitate the drawl of

water by a bucket or by using a hosepipe.A gate valve is fitted at the end of the down pipe to

allow the water from the first rains of the season to run

out. After 2-3 rains, the valve is closed and the rainwaterflows into the barrel. On top of the drum is a filter toimprove the quality of the collected rainwater. This is asmall-perforated aluminium/stainless steel basin with twolayers of sponge on it. Regarding the thickness of thesponge, Vishwanath says, "Oh! Don't worry much onthis. If sponge is not easy available, you can place athree-fold layer of ordinary dhoti."

The sponge filter can be seen from the outside, andwhen it is visibly clogged, it is cleaned by washing in abucket of water. Cleaning 3 or 4 times in a year may beenough and thereis no need to

replace the spongesheet.

A rain barrelcan collect asubstantial amountof water, given it isemptied every timeit rains. Assuming that the user empties the barrel onceeveryday (during the rainy season), a 50 sqm roof,connected to a 500 litre rain barrel, can collect nearly23,000 litres of rainwater in a year, under Bangaloreconditions. Similarly, a 1000 litre rain barrel can collectnearly 35,000 litres of water in a year. In many parts of

Kerala, with over 100 days of rain annually, a 500 litrecan collect around 40,000 litres!

The space required for a 500 litre rain barrel is fourcubic feet and has an installation cost of about Rs 2500,while a 1000 litre rain barrel would cost approximatelyRs 4300.

Every rain barrel has a tap and an overflow outlet. Thewater collected can be used to recharge open wells orbore wells. Using a hosepipe and a Zero-B type filter,which costs about Rs 60, the tap can be connected to the

SHREE PADRE is a journalist with many

years of experience in agricultural reporting.

He is the author of several books, includingone on rainwater harvesting, published by

Altermedia.

Rain Barrels Catalyze Water HarvestingRainwater harvesting through the rain barrel generates water for productive use that would otherwise go waste.

This arti cle shows how the Rainwater Club of Bangalore has used thi s approach eff ecti vely.

A rain barrel connected

to the roof through a

PVC pipe.

The rain barrel's filter is sponge.


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1 6

The potential of rainwater harvesting hasbeen much talked about in recent times.But that an ordinary plastic water storage

drum, connected to the roof through a pipe, canharvest water is a fact that many citizens in theBangalore-Mysore region of India find surprising.

The Rainwater Club of Bangalore is anorganization intent on disseminating informationon rainwater harvesting. It is run byS.Vishwanath, a water activist of internationalrepute. When Vishwanath showed a small plastic drumthat collects rainwater to a team of women slum dwellersof Chamarajpet, Bangalore, they exclaimed, "Ishtena,ishtena?" (Is it this simple, this simple?).

These women will now install rainwater tanks in atleast 200 houses with the help of a local NGO,Rayapuram Development Society.

On another occasion, a Gram Panchayat memberfrom Anekal was so moved by this simple idea that heimmediately decided to build a 10,000 litre RainwaterStorage tank in his village.

This system, presented to the slum women and GramPanchayat member, is called a 'Rain Barrel', "A simple wayfor people to start harvesting rainwater", according toVishwanath.

Most people are not aware of how much rainwaterpours on their house-site or campus, and are not

psychologically prepared to accept such water aspotable. "It is this entry barrier that is mostdifficult to break", opines Vishwanath. Here therain barrel comes in handy, easing away themental block, and serving as a catalyst forrainwater harvesting.

The rain barrel system is based on an ordinaryplastic rainwater storage drum availableanywhere. The capturing area (roof or terrace) iscleaned once at the beginning of the monsoon.

Due to the gravitational pull, the rain that falls on theroof reaches the drum through a PVC down pipe. Forconvenience, the rain barrel is placed on a platform 18inches above the ground to facilitate the drawl of waterby a bucket or by using a hosepipe.

A gate valve is fitted at the end of the down pipe toallow the water from the first rains of the season to run

out. After 2-3 rains, the valve is closed and the rainwaterflows into the barrel. On top of the drum is a filter toimprove the quality of the collected rainwater. This is asmall-perforated aluminium/ stainless steel basin with twoShree PadreEmail: [email protected]

Rainwater Club#264, 6TH Main, 6th Block, Vidyaranyapura, BEL Layout,Bangalore 560097. Phone: +91-80-23641690

http://www.rainwaterclub.org

S.VISHWANATH

of Bangalore' s

Rainwater Club

W ater is every w here. Y et ab o u t 9 7% o f it is salty sea w ater and 2% is f ro z en in glaciers and po lar ice caps, w hich

m ak es the rem aining 1 % a precio u s co m m o dity , indispensab le f o r o u r su rvival. This lif eline is to day - co ntam inated

and po llu ted. S o w ater and o ther natu ral reso u rce co nservatio n are regarded serio u sly in the B o sch E nviro nm ental

Managem ent S y stem . E nviro nm ental pro tectio n play s a signif icant ro le in stim u lating and gu iding pro du ct

inno vatio n. The po llu tio n co ntro l m easu res w e practice at Mo to r Indu stries C o . inclu de au to m ated ef f lu ent

treatm ent plants, preventio n o f so il and gro u nd w ater co ntam inatio n, and m inim iz ed u sage o f haz ardo u s chem icals.

Water t reatmentAt Mo to r Indu stries, w e em plo y techno lo gies lik e E x tended Aeratio n, R everse O sm o sis and Io n E x change f o r

treatm ent and reu se o f do m estic and pro cess w aste w ater. This has resu lted in 4 0% redu ctio n o f f resh w ater u sage.

Treated eff luentAb o u t 8 00, 000 litres o f treated ef f lu ent per day are reu sed f o r seco ndary pu rpo ses lik e gardening and to ilet f lu shing.

Mo re than 1 0, 000 trees o f di f f erent species , in additi o n to a garden o f m edicinal plants , are nu rtu red w i th the treated

ef f lu ent.

Rain water harvestingAt o u r J aipu r P lant ( J aipu r receives less than 3 00 m m o f rainf all annu ally ) , the entire rain w ater ru no f f f ro m the

prem ises is recharged into the gro u nd, thereb y im pro ving the q u ality and q u antity o f availab le gro u nd w ater. In the

last three y ears, m o re than 1 2 Millio n litres o f rain w ater have b een recharged in to the gro u nd.

by K.P. Murthy, Mico Bosch, India

W ater C o nservatio n at

Mo to r Indu stries C o m pany in India

W ater C o nservatio n at

Mo to r Indu stries C o m pany in India


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1 7

FRESH WATER, that was once considered to be aninfinitely renewable natural resource, is no longeravailable in plenty. Several countries are now

experiencing serious fresh water supply problems onaccount of increasing demand due to populationpressure, over exploitation, rapid growth in agriculture,industry and urbanization. In India, the per capita wateravailability, which was over 5,000 cubic meters per

annum in 1950, has now come down to less than 2,000cubic meters*. Though the country has made signif icantprogress with regard to drinking water, thanks to thesustained efforts of the Central and State Governments,heavy dependence on ground water, coupled withinadequate recharging efforts and the neglect oftraditional practices like rain water harvesting, haveresulted in the depletion of ground water levels. This hasbrought about water quality problems in several parts ofthe country. This article will examine the qualityproblems, which, so far, have not received adequateattention in the Indian context.

Despite improved coverage and access to water

supply, nearly 400,000* * children, under the age of f ive,die in India due to diarrhoeal diseases attributable tocontaminated water and poor hygiene practices. Apartfrom this, other major water quality problems includehigh salinity and high fluoride, arsenic, iron and nitrateconcentrations. While some water quality problems areof geological origin, others are man-made. Unlike ironand salinity, the presence of arsenic, fluoride orbacteriological pollution does not result in an easilyidentifiable change in colour or taste. As a result, a largenumber of people unknowingly drink contaminatedwater.

Water quality testing infrastructure in India is still

weak. Some districts do not have qualified labs, whileothers do not have qualified staff or adequate transportfacilities. The dispersed nature of water sources posesimmense logistics problems in transporting samples tothe district labs and conveying results to the community,as frequently as is necessary. Although regular sanitaryinspections are prescribed to prevent bacteriologicalpollution, these are seldom conducted.

What then is the solution? Provision of safe watersources and treatment units should get the highestpriority. In addition, a decentralized system of water

testing has to be introduced. Adoption of communitybased water quality monitoring, and involvement ofhealth department in water quality surveillance, mightalso mitigate the quality problems. A "catchment areaapproach", involving locally available infrastructure andinstitutions for water quality testing at the habitationlevel, with the help of village panchayats and the districtlabs, needs to be advocated.

To implement the community based catchment areaapproach on a large scale, user friendly and reliable water

quality field test kits should be made available. Althoughsome test kits are now seen in the Indian market, it isnecessary to closely scrutinize their efficacy on the twocounts - user-friendliness and reliability - so that theirpotential for large scale use can be determined. Secondly,standardization of these kits may be necessary tofacilitate local manufacture, training communityrepresentatives, as well as for decentralized marketing ofthese kits in district/ block level shops. There is also aneed for an institutional arrangement for assuring quality,receiving feedback from the users, and periodical designrefinement of these kits. There is a substantial scope forprivate-public participation in designing, producing and

marketing these kits. Empowering the communities intesting water quality of their own sources is the only wayfor users to know if their water sources are safe. Onlythen they can initiate timely remedial action.

SS MEENAKSHI SUNDARAM has had 36

years of experience as officer of the IndianAdministrative Service. Besides working in

the Prime Minister's Office with three

different Prime Ministers, he was Secretary toGovernment of India in the Ministries of

Rural Development, Disinvestment, Space

and Atomic Energy. After retiring from theIAS, he is currently a Visiting Professor at the National Institute

of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

Empowering Indian Communities

to Face the Water CrisisWater qualit y testing i nfrastructure in India is still weak. This article recommends decentrali zed system of

water testing alongwith community-based quality monitoring and the use of field test kits.

S.S. M eenakshi SundaramEmail: [email protected]

References:

* Centre for Science and Environment: htt p://ww w.cseindia.org/dte

supplement/industry20040215/ agriculture.htm

* * UNICEF

UK:www.unicef.org.uk/fundraising/resources/unicef_interfaith_action_hindus.pdf


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1 8

There have been inter-state water disputes ever sinceIndia gained independence. Inter state disputesinclude the disputes between Punjab, Haryana and

Rajasthan over Sutlej-Yamuna,Tamilnadu and Karnatakaover Cauveri waters, and Andhra Pradesh and Karnatakaover Krishna waters. Tribunals were constituted todevelop a formula but political undertones pushed thesetribunals into inaction. The most glaring example is the

Cauveri water tribunal to sort out the claims ofKarnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala. The award declaredafter an inexplicably protracted delay of seventeen yearsin February 2007 received more criticism thanappreciation. As the river flows through several states, anideal apportionment has been a challenging task and haseluded a universally acceptable verdict. The announcedverdict is not acceptable to Karanataka and the state ispreparing for long verbal, legal and social wars throughlife paralyzing bandhs and an all party delegation ofpoliticians taking the matter to courts and to the CentralGovernment. What goes beyond the imagination of sanethinking citizens is the lack of realization that gone are

the days of easy availability of surface and ground water.Due to the lack of control over sinking of bore wells and

awareness and implementation of water saving practices,the problems of water shortage are actually accentuated.

While interlinking of rivers advocated by Late K.L.Raowho was dreaming of National water grid has beendiscussed and debated several times, regional andwithin the state water resources could be linked. Forexample linking of Godavari - Krishna, Galeru - Nagari,and Handri - Neva in Andhra Pradesh may provide muchneeded access to water for irrigation and drinking inseveral districts. This is what is being done in Andhra

Pradesh.If a concerted proactive approach is made, many

water problems could be solved.Success stories such as Krishnawater being sent to Chennaithrough the Telugu Ganga projectis solving to a great extent thedrinking water problems ofChennai. This should act as amodel for social political vision forState leaders. Public / privatepartnerships and industryinvolvement should lead the way

for quenching thirst of millionswhose basic access to cleandrinking water is denied. TheOlavanna experiment in Kerala, theByrraju Foundation projects inAndhra Pradesh and Sri Satya Saiwater projects have shown the wayfor public/private partnerships and

PROF. RAMAMURTHI RALLAPALLI

(Ph.D., D.Sc) is a former Vice-Chancellor ofS,V.University in Tirupati, and is General

President of the 2008 Indian Science

Congress. 'He is an Environmental andBiomedical Scientist of international

reputation. He is a fellow of Indian National

Science Academy (F.N.A.Sc)., NationalAcademy of Sciences,India (F.N.A), Received ISCA

Millennium Plaque of Honor award from Hon'ble PrimeMinister of India, Jan, 2006

Water Wars: National Problems

from a Regional PerspectiveShortage of water and inefficient management of water resources have led to several inter-state water disputes in India.

This article points out the necessity of adopting a regional focus iin the resolution of water problems at the national level.

Ramamurt hi RallapalliEmail: [email protected]


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19

A

PPROXIMATELY 70 percent of India's citizens livein rural communities, with poor, if any, access to

potable water* . Addressing this need has been adaunting challenge for governments, private industry andNGOs alike. In response to the crisis, WaterHealthInternational (WHI) is redefining the way potable wateris provided to the world's underserved populations.

Breakthrough Technology

The foundation of the company's products is a versatile,innovative technology platform. The patented, award-winning technology, UV Waterworks, employs aunique air-suspended ultra-violet process that is gravitydriven, and features a contoured flow channel instead ofa cylindrical pipe. UV disinfection is an extremely safe,

reliable and environmentally superior method ofdisinfecting water. UVW delivers a high dose of thisradiation that inactivates micro organisms throughdisruption of their DNA processes. The technology wasinvented at the, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoriesin California by Dr. Ashok Gadgil, a Staff Scientist, whoalso holds the position of VP of Scientific Affairs of WHI.He has received wide international acclaim for hisinvention and its ability to deliver high-quality water atvery low cost. The high quality of water meets thepotable water standards of the World HealthOrganization.

In both its operational characteristics and application

potential, the UV Waterworks process and system designrepresent a significant departure from the existingpurification processes. For deployment in ruggedenvironments and locations with little technologyinfrastructure it has significant advantages overtechnologies such as conventional UV systems, reverseosmosis, ozonation and chlorination, among others.Benefits of the technology include high efficacycombined with high throughput, a small footprint, andlong-term reliability. The modular design means thatsystems can be scaled to serve communities of various

sizes. Non-proprietary components that are coupled withUVW in WHI's installations are readily available in most

parts of the world. Ease-of-use and low maintenancerequirements mean that the systems can be deployedeven in the most remote locations.

A Unique Approach to Sustainability

WaterHealth International's unique business approach toreaching the underserved includes financing for thepurchase and installation of the systems. This makes itpossible to deliver comprehensive and integratedproducts for safe, clean water, even to communities onceconsidered "unreachable".

User fees for treated water are used to service thefinancing costs and to cover the expenses of operating

and maintaining the equipment and facility. Thecompany hires and trains local residents of thecommunities it serves to operate and perform the day-to-day maintenance of these "micro-utilities". This createsemployment and builds capacity, as well as spawnsentrepreneurial opportunities for local residents toprovide related services, such as delivery of the purifiedwater to outlying areas.

Because the facilities are owned by the communities inwhich they are installed, the user fee becomes animportant source of revenue for communities after the

TRALANCE ADDY earned BA and BS

degrees in chemistry and mechanicalengineering simultaneously from

Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, in 1969,and subsequently earned MS and PhDdegrees in engineering from the University ofMassachusetts at Amherst. Prior to joining

WaterHealth, Dr. Addy was an internationalvice president of Johnson & Johnson, and a member of the

Global Management Committee of Johnson & Johnson Medical,

Inc. He is a recipient of several corporate awards for innovationand entrepreneurship, and the holder of 13 US and

international patents.

WaterHealth International Partners with

Community Leaders and NGOs to Bring

Clean Water to India's UnderservedThis article presents the experience of WaterHealth International i n catering to the w ater needs of rural communities. It

uses a partnership approach to extend ongoing outreach and education programs that effectively communicate therelationship between clean water, improved hygiene and good health.


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20

APPROXIMATELY 70 percent of India's citizens livein rural communities, with poor, if any, access topotable water*. Addressing this need has been a

daunting challenge for governments, private industryand NGOs alike. In response to the crisis, WaterHealthInternational (WHI) is redefining the way potable wateris provided to the world's underserved populations.

Breakthrough Technology

The foundation of the company's products is a versatile,innovative technology platform. The patented, award-winning technology, UV Waterworks, employs aunique air-suspended ultra-violet process that is gravitydriven, and features a contoured flow channel instead ofa cylindrical pipe. UV disinfection is an extremely safe,reliable and environmentally superior method ofdisinfecting water. UVW delivers a high dose of this

radiation that inactivates micro organisms throughdisruption of their DNA processes. The technology wasinvented at the, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoriesin California by Dr. Ashok Gadgil, a Staff Scientist, whoalso holds the position of VP of Scientific Affairs of WHI.He has received wide international acclaim for hisinvention and its ability to deliver high-quality water atvery low cost. The high quality of water meets thepotable water standards of the World HealthOrganization.

In both its operational characteristics and applicationpotential, the UV Waterworks process and system designrepresent a significant departure from the existing

purification processes. For deployment in ruggedenvironments and locations with little technologyinfrastructure it has significant advantages overtechnologies such as conventional UV systems, reverseosmosis, ozonation and chlorination, among others.Benefits of the technology include high efficacycombined with high throughput, a small footprint, andlong-term reliability. The modular design means that

systems can be scaled to serve communities of varioussizes. Non-proprietary components that are coupled withUVW in WHI's installations are readily available in mostparts of the world. Ease-of-use and low maintenancerequirements mean that the systems can be deployedeven in the most remote locations.

A Unique Approach t o Sustainabilit y

WaterHealth International's unique business approach toreaching the underserved includes financing for thepurchase and installation of the systems. This makes itpossible to deliver comprehensive and integratedproducts for safe, clean water, even to communities onceconsidered "unreachable".

User fees for treated water are used to service thefinancing costs and to cover the expenses of operatingand maintaining the equipment and facility. The

company hires and trains local residents of thecommunities it serves to operate and perform the day-to-day maintenance of these "micro-utilities". This createsemployment and builds capacity, as well as spawnsentrepreneurial opportunities for local residents toprovide related services, such as delivery of the purifiedwater to outlying areas.

Because the facilities are owned by the communities inwhich they are installed, the user fee becomes animportant source of revenue for communities after theloans are repaid.

Partnering for Effective Public Outreach and

EducationCommunity involvement and knowledge are vital factorsin the widespread and lasting adoption of practices towin the fight against waterborne diseases. In thecommunities it serves, WaterHealth developspartnerships with healthcare professionals and

Dr. Tralance AddyEmail: [email protected]

1. The leading cause of child death in the world is Diarrhea.

2. Of the 37 major diseases in developing countries, 21 are water and sanitation related.

3. Each year, children under five suffer 1.5 billion episodes of diarrhea, four million of which are fatal.

4. No intervention has greater overall impact upon national development and public health than does the provision ofsafe drinking water and proper disposal of human excreta.

5. At any given time, half the people in developing countries are suffering from water-related diseases

Water-Related Disease Facts

Reference:WaterPartners International Fact Sheet from www.water.org, Email: [email protected]


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1 1WATERCATALYSTFOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2 1

AFEW like-minded people formed the Akash GangaTrust in January 2001. On August 21, 2002, the Trustlaunched Chennai's Rain Centre, the first of its kind in

the country, is a one-stop information and assistance centeron rainwater harvesting. This Centre was inaugurated by theHonorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The initial seed money for the Center came from a fewnon-resident Indians living in the U.S. Further support, in theform of resource material, was provided by the Centre forScience and Environment, an NGO headquartered in NewDelhi. The State Government of Tamil Nadu is also one of the

co-sponsors.The Rain Centre, which is open to all, charges no fee forits services. Its activities, carried out with the funds receivedby the Akash Ganga Trust through donations, aresummarized below. The Centre has been involved in thepromotion of urban Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) since itslaunch three years ago.

Education

1. A number of large sized colorful poster panels,highlighting the value of water and the importance ofRWH, are on permanent exhibition in the Rain Centre.

2. Working models in the Centre demonstrate RWH both

from flat and sloping roofs and from ground surfacerunoff.

3. Different types of actual RWH systems have been installedin the Centre's premises, e.g.:

a. Diversion of rooftop rainwater into plastic tanks aboveground, for immediate use;

b. Diversion of rainwater into below-ground masonry

cisterns equipped with sand filters to enable immediateuse of the water, and with overflow directed to traditionaldug wells for use and recharge purposes;

c. Trapping of surface runoff on individual properties throughshallow trenches dug and directed in such a way as todirect the trapped water into a recharge well.

4. Video film shows on RWH are presented periodically forthe general public.

5. Resource materials like booklets, posters etc. have beenprepared in English and Tamil and are provided at anominal cost. The posters have also been pasted in publicplaces, where people tend to assemble, like the Divisional

and Zonal offices of the Municipal Corporation andChennai Metrowater, post offices, marriage halls, bankbranches, and school and college notice boards.

6. A publicity button was prepared and worn by Trustmembers in order to publicize RWH. A sign saying"RAINWATER HARVESTING DONE IN THIS PLOT",distributed to people who have implemented harvesting

in their respective premises, also generatespublicity when it is fixed on the gates so asto attract the curiosity of passersby.7. During the last couple of years, studentsfrom several schools and colleges havevisited the rain centre and learnt about

RWH. Key persons from the centre havealso visited several institutions, both withinand outside the city and the state, to givetalks, make video presentations andorganize exhibitions about RWH.8. Several NGOs, working in both watersector and other areas, have visited the raincentre.9. Seminars and workshops have also beenorganized in the centre.

Rain Centre in Chennai, IndiaThis article showcases the activi ti es of the Rain Centre, the first Indian organisation to provide assistance and

information on rainwater harvesti ng. Situated in Chennai, t he rain Centre also serves as a one-stop i nformat ion centre.SHEKAR RAGHAVAN is a Physicist by

education and training. He received his Ph.D.

in 1976 from Madras University in the area ofHigh Energy Physics. For the past ten years,

he has been involved in a door to door

campaign in the city of Chennai trying tocreate awareness about the importance of

RWH in urban areas. It all started in Besant

Nagar. For the past four years, he has been with the Rain Centreas its Director. Before that he was with Centre for Policy studies

for about eight years where he met Mukundan.


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2 2

AFEW like-minded people formed the Akash GangaTrust in January 2001. On August 21, 2002, the Trustlaunched Chennai's Rain Centre, the first of its kind in

the country, is a one-stop information and assistance centeron rainwater harvesting. This Centre was inaugurated by theHonorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The initial seed money for the Center came from a fewnon-resident Indians living in the U.S. Further support, in theform of resource material, was provided by the Centre forScience and Environment, an NGO headquartered in NewDelhi. The State Government of Tamil Nadu is also one of theco-sponsors.

The Rain Centre, which is open to all, charges no fee for

its services. Its activities, carried out with the funds receivedby the Akash Ganga Trust through donations, aresummarized below. The Centre has been involved in thepromotion of urban Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) since itslaunch three years ago.

Education

1. A number of large sized colorful poster panels,highlighting the value of water and the importance ofRWH, are on permanent exhibition in the Rain Centre.

2. Working models in the Centre demonstrate RWH bothfrom flat and sloping roofs and from ground surfacerunoff.

3. Different types of actual RWH systems have been installedin the Centre's premises, e.g.:

a. Diversion of rooftop rainwater into plastic tanks aboveground, for immediate use;

b. Diversion of rainwater into below-ground masonrycisterns equipped with sand filters to enable immediateuse of the water, and with overflow directed to traditional

dug wells for use and recharge purposes;c. Trapping of surface runoff on individual properties through

shallow trenches dug and directed in such a way as todirect the trapped water into a recharge well.

4. Video film shows on RWH are presented periodically forthe general public.

5. Resource materials like booklets, posters etc. have beenprepared in English and Tamil and are provided at anominal cost. The posters have also been pasted in publicplaces, where people tend to assemble, like the Divisionaland Zonal offices of the Municipal Corporation andChennai Metrowater, post offices, marriage halls, bankbranches, and school and college notice boards.

6. A publicity button was prepared and worn by Trustmembers in order to publicize RWH. A sign saying"RAINWATER HARVESTING DONE IN THIS PLOT",distributed to people who have implemented harvesting

Shekar RaghavanExecutive Director, Rain CentreEmail: [email protected]

Rain Centre is located at 4, Third Trust Link Road in Mandavallipakkam. It

is located off Santhome High Road near the Registrar's office. The

telephone number at the centre is (044) 2461-6134. The website is

http://www.raincentre.org.

Collect roof water First flush Filter Sump Well


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23

CAPTURE RAIN water, store it and use it - it is assimple as that". Collect the rain water falling onhouse tops, collection ponds, lakes, open areas

with natural grading. Rain water is naturally pure(excepting where it becomes acid rain due to industrialpollution); ground water could be brackish or pollutedwith various contaminants.

Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) was practiced in Indiaeven before the Brit ish installed municipal pipelines. Asthe population of India rose from 100 million in the1900's to 1,027 million in 2005, the demand for drinking

water increased many fold. The population increase alsosaw many water bodies in both urban and rural areascovered by buildings and other structures.

Water Everywhere Starts as Rain

Rain is the source of all water in the world. 97.5% ofthe world's supply of water is salt water in the oceans and1.5% of water is in the arctic glaciers. The remaining 1%goes through the water cycle. India receives the 6th

highest rainfall country in the world and almost 90% ofthis rainfall reaches the ocean.

RWH in Urban Locations

Rain falling on the roof and the sides of the building iscollected, filtered and charged. For a single family housein a metro city, the only additional investment (about Rs2000) is the installation of PVC pipes. Installing a RWHunit in a multiple tenant flat complex with 25 families willcost about Rs 50,000.

In the picture on the left, a metro home owner needsto install only items 2, 3, 4 and 9. All other items - sump,electric pump, overhead storage - already exist to receive

and distribute the city delivered water.

RWH Unit Costs - Starting Estimates (2001 Costs)

The actual costs depend upon specific RWH design,size of the facility/ house, and percent of rain waterharvested and stored. Given below are a few unit costs:lSump: (only if required) 12,000 litre sumps costs aboutRs 50,000 (about Rs3.50 per litre for largesumps).lDrain pipes cost aroundRs 15 to Rs 30 perrunning foot.

lBends and elbowsaround Rs 20 to Rs75 per piece.

lFilter chamber 2'x2'x2'with pebbles andsand costRs 1,500.

l10' deep percolationpit with sand,pebbles, air vent anda perforated slab on

Rainwater Harvesting in IndiaRainwater Harvesting (RWH) is known t o India f rom the past f ew centuries. With increasing w ater crisis, there is an urgent

need for practising and popularising rainwater harvesting. The article provides an insight int o the prevalent practi ces.RAM KRISHNAN was born in Trivandrum,

schooled in Madras, Delhi and Bombay. Ramis an alumnus of IIT Madras. He graduated in

1967 with a B.Tech and M.Tech. He founded

and operated a Logistics Consultingcompany for 15 years in the US. After

working in the Minnesota, US for 30 years,

Ram Krishnan, for the past few years, spends3 months in India every year, learning, working and

advocating for the poor in India's villages.


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CAPTURER A I Nw a t e r ,

store it and use it- it is as simple asthat". Collect therain water fallingon house tops,collection ponds,lakes, open areas

with natural grading. Rain water is naturally pure(excepting where it becomes acid rain due to industrialpollution); ground water could be brackish or pollutedwith various contaminants.

Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) was practiced in Indiaeven before the British installed municipal pipelines. Asthe population of India rose from 100 million in the

1900's to 1,027 million in 2005, the demand for drinkingwater increased many fold. The population increase alsosaw many water bodies in both urban and rural areascovered by buildings and other structures.Water Everywhere Starts as Rain

Rain is the source of all water in the world. 97.5% ofthe world's supply of water is salt water in the oceans and1.5% of water is in the arctic glaciers. The remaining 1%goes through the water cycle. India receives the 6thhighest rainfall country in the world and almost 90% ofthis rainfall reaches the ocean.

RWH in Urban Locations

Rain falling on the roof and the sides of the building iscollected, filtered and charged. For a single family housein a metro city, the only additional investment (about Rs2000) is the installation of PVC pipes. Installing a RWHunit in a multiple tenant flat complex with 25 families willcost about Rs 50,000.

In the picture on the left, a metro home owner needsto install only items 2, 3, 4 and 9. All other items - sump,electric pump, overhead storage - already exist to receiveand distribute the city delivered water.

RWH Unit Costs - Starting Estimates (2001 Costs)

The actual costs depend upon specific RWH design,

size of thefacility/ house,and percent ofrain waterharvested andstored. Givenbelow are a fewunit costs:lSump: (only ifrequired) 12,000litre sumps costs

about Rs 50,000 (about Rs 3.50 per litre for large sumps).lDrain pipes cost around Rs 15 to Rs 30 per running foot.lBends and elbows around Rs 20 to Rs 75 per piece.lFilter chamber 2'x2'x2' with pebbles and sand cost

Rs 1,500.l10' deep percolation pit with sand, pebbles, air vent and

a perforated slab on the top costs Rs 2,500.

RWH in the Hostel Sector of Educational Institutions

(IIT Madras)

Roof rainwater from 12hostels isdiverted to 4large wells andrecharges theunderground.

Months afterthe rainyseason, water isavailable inthese wells. Thisproject serves45% of thewater needs of3,600 students.

RWH in

Factories and

Buildings

Many industrial units like Ashok Leyland (top), AsianPaints (bottom), Escorts, and TVS have installed RWH tomeet their drinking water needs as well as their industrialprocessing needs. All units in the State of Tamil Naduhave installed RWH, thanks to the Governmentordinance. It is important to note that the ordinancecovers "All" (not just new) buildings, houses, public placesin the "Entire State".

RWH in Rural Areas - Community Wells, Village

Statistics on water:

WaterPartners International

http://w ww.water.org/resources/waterfacts.htmAquastat http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/aquastat/main/index.stm

Few key links:

Center for Science and Environment -

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org

Arghyam and India Water Portal - http://www.arghyam.org and

http://www.indiawaterportal.org

Rainwater Harvesting - Tutorial -

http://adshare.adayana.net/suneer/index.htm

Internat ional Rainwater Catchment Systems Association

American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association -

http://www.arcsa-usa.org/


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2 5

On Jan 12th, 2007, the Prime Minister officiallylaunched the India Water Portal, along with theIndia Energy Portal, at a function held at his

residence. The occasion was the submission of the 2006report of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC).The NKC had mooted the idea of 'knowledge portals' inseveral areas, and as a first step, the Water and Energyportals were launched. These websites are dedicated toall the issues related to their areas and are run as acommunity partnership without undue influence oragendas.

There is a need for a neutral and open platform wherethe power of discourse can be deployed for problem

solving and improving governance practices. The IndiaWater Portal then becomes a hub where the interactionof different stakeholders can enhance the creation, the

sharing, and the application of "water knowledge".Coordinated and funded by Arghyam, a public charitabletrust based in Bangalore (www.arghyam.org), this Portalis a collaborative space for sharing water management

knowledge amongst practitioners. It draws on theexperience of experts, adding value to it throughtechnology and then disseminating it to a larger audiencethrough the internet.

The Water Portal is packed with resources andapplications, some of which are groundbreaking. One ofthe key innovations is the extensive use of GIS(Geographical Information Systems). A prime example isthe Meteorological Data application, which imports datasets of 9 climate parameters (e.g. precipitation,temperature, cloud cover) covering the entire country ona .5 by .5 degree latitude/ longitude grid, and spanningthe time period from 1901 to 2002. This has been

integrated into a GIS administrative map of the country.The end user can zoom into the map to pick a

particular area of interest, choose climate parameters and

The India Water Portal

The Prime Minister launching the India Water Portal at a f unction on January 12th 2007.

Also in the pi cture are Mr. Sam Pitroda, Chairman of t he National Knowledge Commission,

and Ms. Rohini Nilekani Chairperson, Arghyam.

The Meteorological Data Application

ROHINI NILEKANI is Founder-Chairperson

of ARGHYAM, a public charitable trust shehas personally endowed with Rs 100 crores.

She is also Chairperson, Akshara Foundation,Karnataka. She is Founder-Chairperson,

Pratham Books, a non-profit publishing house

set up to create high quality, low cost booksfor children. She is Chairperson, Unmeelan,

the arts and the ideas forum at Infosys Technologies Ltd.


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2 6

On Jan 12th,2007, the PrimeMinister officially

launched the India WaterPortal, along with theIndia Energy Portal, at afunction held at hisresidence. The occasionwas the submission of the2006 report of theNational KnowledgeCommission (NKC). TheNKC had mooted theidea of 'knowledgeportals' in several areas,and as a first step, theWater and Energy portals

were launched. These websites are dedicated to all theissues related to their areas and are run as a communitypartnership without undue influence or agendas.

There is a need for a neutral and open platform wherethe power of discourse can be deployed for problemsolving and improving governance practices. The IndiaWater Portal then becomes a hub where the interactionof different stakeholders can enhance the creation, thesharing, and the application of "water knowledge".Coordinated and funded by Arghyam, a public charitabletrust based in Bangalore (www.arghyam.org), this Portalis a collaborative space for sharing water managementknowledge amongst practitioners. It draws on the

experience of experts, adding value to it throughtechnology and then disseminating it to a larger audiencethrough the internet.

The Water Portal is packed with resources andapplications, some of which are groundbreaking. One ofthe key innovations is the extensive use of GIS(Geographical Information Systems). A prime example isthe Meteorological Data application, which imports datasets of 9 climate parameters (e.g. precipitation,temperature, cloud cover)covering the entire countryo na .5 by .5 degree

latitude/ longitude grid,and spanning the timeperiod from 1901 to 2002.This has been integratedinto a GIS administrativemap of the country.

The end user can zoominto the map to pick aparticular area of interest,choose climate parametersand period of time, and

immediately get the datain the form of tables andcharts. Such ease ofavailability ofmeteorological data on afree, public website isprobably a first for thecountry. One can lookforward to fresh andinnovative usage of thisdata that was hithertonot in public domain.

On the Water Portal,the "Tools andTechniques" section hasinformation on watermanagement, organized

into practice areas that are widely acknowledged ascrucial for both short term and long term sustainability ofwater resources, and are:

lRainwater HarvestinglAgriculturelDrinking waterlWaterbody RestorationlUrban WaterlGroundwaterlWatershed DevelopmentlSanitationlWastewater

lWater Quality

Case studies, slideshows, courses and movies havebeen collected, developed or documented for eachPractice. An effort to bring together the relevant policies,research papers and reports for each practice, has alsobeen made.

One of the key investments has been in the area of E-Learning courses. Such courses are being developed in

collaboration with domainexperts in 3 areas -W a t e r s h e d

Development, with

Samaj Pragati Sahyog,G r o u n d w a t e r

Management withA C W A D A M

(www.acwadam.org), andFluoride Mitigation with

BIRD-K (www.birdk.org).The partners provide thecontent, drawing heavilyfrom their experience infield work and in training

A slide from the e-learning course on Watersheds

India Water Portal


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and mentoring. The courses are designed using audio,animation and 3-D simulations to bring the topics to life.Links to courses offered by other organizations have alsobeen added to make it a comprehensive repository overtime. These courses will be put on CDs and used attraining workshops, NGO centres and in kiosks, toachieve scale in capacity-building.

AnOrganisation Locator has also been implemented,again coupled with GIS, to allow users to findorganisations that work on a water-related topic in any

part of the country through an easy 'Search' facility. Theorganisations are shown on an interactive map of thecountry, each of them represented by a marker, clickingon which provides available information on the

organisation. Users can add their own organisations byfilling out a simple form. This is a powerful way to quicklyscale up the database to many hundreds and eventhousands of items.

River Basins: It is commonly recognized that river-basin planning, based on natural watershed boundaries,leads to optimum solutions in water resourcemanagement. To facilitate this, a diverse range of datahas b

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