Page 19 - Water Every Drop Counts

RAIN WATER HARVESTING : AN OLD TRADITION IN INDIA

Collecting and storing rainwater for
future needs has been an old tradition
in India.

Traditional water harvesting systems
like bawadis (step wells), jhiries
(lakes) and tanks were commonly
used water storage bodies to meet
household and irrigation needs of
water.

Hadi Rani ki Baori (Step-Well), Toda Rai Singh, Rajasthan

RASHTRAPATI BHAWAN LEADS THE WAY

With 7000 people residents and
3000 visitors every day, the water
requirements of the President’s
Estate are huge. The famous Mughal
Gardens also require a large quantity
of water for their upkeep. With 35% of
its total demand of about 2 mld being
met through groundwater sources, an
alarming fall in the estate water table
had been noticed.
A rainwater harvesting system was set
up in Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1998. In
the first year itself, there was a 97 cm
net increase in the ground water level.
In the second phase, run off’s from
adjoining areas were also diverted into
recharge structures thereby utilizing
100% run off in the President’s Estate.
This has helped to raise the water table
to 2.33 meters in September 2010!

19