Page 66 - November Full Issue Digital
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URBANIA Water concerns Rainwater harvesting should be the default code for sustainable households, says SACHIN AGARWAL In a land-locked city like Pune, the Because of rapid real estate development well as rural areas. importance of water is inescapable. in our cities, the highest demand for Rainwater harvesting involves collecting, Even at a national and global level, resources such as water is centered there. filtering and storing rain water to be used climactic changes as well as other factors Moreover, with limited developable land, for various residential and industrial are causing water levels to decrease. multi-story residential complexes are purposes. The primary apparatus include Overpopulation has led to more and being built at a very fast rate. a down pipe and a first flush arrangement, more acquisition of shallow lands for The earth’s surface is 70 per cent water; a filter unit and a storage tank. Rainwater landfills, reducing the number of available however, very little of this is drinkable or provides a clean, free source of potable water bodies. Deforestation has further usable by humans. It is more than likely water. Rainwater harvesting employed compounded the scarcity of water, as this that we will soon reach a point when the in residential properties, which usually causes regional rainfall to become more amount of usable water present on the involves trapping rainwater from roofs and unpredictable. earth’s surface is not enough to meet all guiding it into storage tanks or cisterns Though India is advantageously placed the needs of the growing population and in the ground, can meet 50 per cent of geographically, several regions are the development taking place alongside. everyday household needs. seriously affected due to the lack of usable Water as a resource is needed in every In fact, rainwater harvesting is not just a water – a city like Pune is, in fact, a prime activity, be it farming or construction of way to make maximum use of this natural example of this phenomenon. In the buildings. Rainwater harvesting is the resource, but also a way to do with years to come, the majority of the world’s only real solution available now, and is a minimum environmental impact. Naturally, population will be living in urban areas. practice that is catching on in urban as it also results in significant cost savings on 68 construction opportunities|NovemBeR 2014
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