It’s been rightly said ‘Water is life’. The maximum time an individual can go without water is about 7 days- an estimate which would certainly be shorter in worse conditions like broiling heat.

The ground water in southern parts of India has been drying up due to extended summers and lack of rainfall. This has led to an onset of a cold war between some of the Indian southern states. The reservoirs are almost going at half of their capacity and the requirement for water keeps increasing. Cities like Bengaluru and Chennai which are economic hubs of the country are facing drought situations, employees missing work to stand in queues for water collection will soon become a common phenomenon.

If this problem is not taken seriously by the government and proper awareness is not given to the people, this can become a national crisis. Do we want to start a countdown for ‘Day Zero’ like South Africa (Cape Town) did and missed quite narrowly?

The situation is not as worse as it seems but in order to take a hold on it, we need to start acting now, RIGHT NOW. Rain water harvesting is a method which involves the accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off.

The collection and storage of rain water that runs off from roof tops, parks, roads, open grounds, etc. is usually done. This water run off can be either stored or recharged into the ground water. This sustainable method of using water dates back to 1700 BC when similar concepts were used for water usage.

Rain water harvesting is compulsory in the near drought stricken states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the rest of the states of India are less aware of the uses of this technique. After the Tamil Nadu government made rain water harvesting compulsory in 2001, Chennai has seen 50 % increase in water level in 5 years with significant improvement in the water quality. This has proved to be the most cost efficient method where the users themselves are responsible for the installation costs against the Rs 212 crore investment by the Tamil Nadu government to dig borewells to meet the demand.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has made it compulsory for all government projects to install a rain water harvesting system which includes flyover, bridges or any other construction.

Making rain water harvesting compulsory for all new and existing buildings in rural and urban areas of the country will help us reduce water depletion significantly. Our fresh water supply today is strictly dependent on the rainfall. Here are some fresh water stats of the world.

Let us all take one step towards a sustainable future and help build a better and resourceful country for our future generations.