Tag: Green Building

Is “NeeRain” the Answer to Global Water Scarcity? Unveiling Amit Doshi’s Vision

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In the heart of Kalol, Gujarat, where water scarcity casts a long shadow over daily life, one man’s journey embodies the spirit of innovation, determination, and environmental stewardship. Meet Mr. Amit Doshi, the visionary founder of NeeRain, a trailblazer in the realm of rainwater harvesting. His entrepreneurial voyage is not merely a story of success but a testament to the transformative power of dedication, ingenuity, and a deep-seated commitment to addressing pressing global challenges.

Amit’s narrative begins in Kalol, a town grappling with the relentless burden of water scarcity. Despite the adversities, he pursued his education with fervor, culminating in a Diploma in Plastic Engineering. These formative years instilled in him a profound understanding of the challenges faced by communities battling water shortages—a comprehension that would later fuel his entrepreneurial aspirations.

A pivotal moment came when Amit joined Sintex Industries Limited, marking the beginning of a remarkable 17-year journey. Rising through the ranks, he navigated diverse roles, from Production Supervisor to National Head for Environmental Enterprise. His tenure at Sintex honed his expertise in waste management, laying the groundwork for his future endeavors. However, Amit harbored a burning desire to chart a new path—one that would transcend the confines of traditional waste management and delve deeper into the realm of environmental sustainability.

In 2014, Amit took the leap of faith, bidding farewell to Sintex Industries to embark on his entrepreneurial odyssey. His mission was clear: to tackle water-related challenges head-on while revolutionizing the landscape of rainwater harvesting. Thus, NeeRain was born—a testament to his unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship.

At the core of NeeRain’s ethos lies a profound dedication to simplicity, accessibility, and effectiveness. Amit envisioned a solution that would democratize rainwater harvesting, making it accessible to all. The result? A groundbreaking innovation: rooftop rainwater filters designed to capture, purify, and store rainwater with unparalleled efficiency. Made from ABS plastic, these filters boast a dual-stage filtration process, ensuring the purity of collected water. What sets NeeRain apart is its affordability, ease of installation, and low maintenance—a stark departure from traditional methods plagued by complexity and high costs.

The inspiration behind the name “NeeRain” is as poetic as it is profound. Rooted in Sanskrit, “नीर” (Neer) translates to water, symbolizing the essence of life itself. Paired with “Rain,” the name embodies the company’s mission to harness the life-giving power of rainwater for the greater good—a mission encapsulated by the mantra Amit lives by: “Contribute more, expect less.”

NeeRain’s journey has been marked by remarkable milestones, including prestigious awards and recognition for its contributions and innovative products:

  • Won CII’s National Award for Excellence in Water Management 2022 in the innovative water-saving product category.
  • Featured in the first episode of the series “ChangeMakers“ by Doordarshan.
  • Signed an MOU with the WASH Innovation Hub, Government of Telangana, for upcoming rainwater harvesting projects.
  • Engaged by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for projects at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation worth Rs. 20 Lakhs.
  • Mentioned in the coffee table book of CII.
  • Attained global recognition by The Better India.
  • Article published by Partho Burman.
  • Awarded the Water Leadership Award by The Economic Times Group.
  • Acknowledged as an Emerging Startup in water conservation by the Entrepreneurship Development Institution of India.

Photo Courtesy : CEO VINE

In its initial stages, NeeRain received a significant CSR grant of Rs. 10.81 lakhs from HDFC Bank through Cradle, EDII, which served as a catalyst for the company’s growth. Today, NeeRain’s revenue is poised to reach approximately Rs. 2 crore, a testament to its burgeoning success and impact in the field of water management.

  • Yet, for Amit, success transcends mere accolades and revenue figures. It is rooted in a profound sense of purpose—a commitment to empowering individuals, communities, and the planet. In his spare time, Amit channels his passion for empowerment through motivational videosaimed at inspiring the next generation of changemakers.
  • Aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to follow in Amit’s footsteps are met with sage advice: identify real problems, devise affordable solutions, and embrace simplicity and scalability. The journey may be fraught with challenges, but with perseverance and innovation, transformative change is within reach.
  • In the annals of entrepreneurship, Amit Doshi’s story stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of human ingenuity—a beacon of hope in an ever-changing world. Through NeeRain, he has not only revolutionized rainwater harvesting but also ignited a movement—one that empowers individuals to shape a more sustainable future for generations to come.

NeeRain is proud to republish this blog to spread awareness about the situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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CEO VINE

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Author : Rosalin

Published On : 1 March, 2024

 

One of the world’s biggest cities may be just months away from running out of water

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Photo Courtesy: Henry Romero/Reuter

Mexico City CNN —  Alejandro Gomez has been without proper running water for more than three months. Sometimes it comes on for an hour or two, but only a small trickle, barely enough to fill a couple of buckets. Then nothing for many days.

Gomez, who lives in Mexico City’s Tlalpan district, doesn’t have a big storage tank so can’t get water truck deliveries — there’s simply nowhere to store it. Instead, he and his family eke out what they can buy and store.

When they wash themselves, they capture the runoff to flush the toilet. It’s hard, he told CNN. “We need water, it’s essential for everything.”

Water shortages are not uncommon in this neighborhood, but this time feels different, Gomez said. “Right now, we are getting this hot weather. It’s even worse, things are more complicated.”

Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of nearly 22 million people and one of the world’s biggest cities, is facing a severe water crisis as a tangle of problems — including geography, chaotic urban development, and leaky infrastructure — are compounded by the impacts of climate change.

Years of abnormally low rainfall, longer dry periods, and high temperatures have added stress to a water system already straining to cope with increased demand. Authorities have been forced to introduce significant restrictions on the water pumped from reservoirs.

“Several neighborhoods have suffered from a lack of water for weeks, and there are still four months left for the rains to start,” said Christian Domínguez Sarmiento, an atmospheric scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Politicians are downplaying any sense of crisis, but some experts say the situation has now reached such critical levels that Mexico City could be barreling towards “day zero” in a matter of months — where the taps run dry for huge swaths of the city.

Historic lows

Densely populated Mexico City stretches out across a high-altitude lake bed, around 7,300 feet above sea level. It was built on clay-rich soil — into which it is now sinking — and is prone to earthquakes and highly vulnerable to climate change. It’s perhaps one of the last places anyone would choose to build a megacity today.

The Aztecs chose this spot to build their city of Tenochtitlan in 1325, when it was a series of lakes. They built on an island, expanding the city outwards, constructing networks of canals and bridges to work with the water.

But when the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, they tore down much of the city, drained the lakebed, filled in canals and ripped out forests. They saw “water as an enemy to overcome for the city to thrive,” said Jose Alfredo Ramirez, an architect and co-director of Groundlab, a design and policy research organization.

Photo Courtesy : Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Their decision paved the way for many of Mexico City’s modern problems. Wetlands and rivers have been replaced with concrete and asphalt. In the rainy season, it floods. In the dry season, it’s parched.

Around 60% of Mexico City’s water comes from its underground aquifer, but this has been so over-extracted that the city is sinking at a frightening rate — around 20 inches a year, according to recent research. And the aquifer is not being replenished anywhere near fast enough. The rainwater rolls off the city’s hard, impermeable surfaces, rather than sinking into the ground.

The rest of the city’s water is pumped vast distances uphill from sources outside the city, in an incredibly inefficient process, during which around 40% of the water is lost through leaks.

The Cutzamala water system, a network of reservoirs, pumping stations, canals and tunnels, supplies about 25% of the water used by the Valley of Mexico, which includes Mexico City. But severe drought has taken its toll. Currently, at around 39% of capacity, it’s been languishing at a historic low.

“It’s almost half of the amount of water that we should have,” said Fabiola Sosa-Rodríguez, head of economic growth and environment at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City.

In October, Conagua, the country’s national water commission, announced it would restrict water from Cutzamala by 8% “to ensure the supply of drinking water to the population given the severe drought.”

Just a few weeks later, officials significantly tightened restrictions, reducing the water supplied by the system by nearly 25%, blaming extreme weather conditions.

“Measures will have to be taken to be able to distribute the water that Cutzamala has over time, to ensure that it does not run out,” Germán Arturo Martínez Santoyo, the director general of Conagua, said in a statement at the time.

The exposed banks of the Villa Victoria Dam, part of the Cutzamala System, in Villa Victoria, Mexico on January 26, 2024.

Photo Courtesy :Raquel Cunha/Reuters

Around 60% of Mexico is experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to a February report. Nearly 90% of Mexico City is in severe drought — and it’s set to get worse with the start of the rainy season still months away.

“We are around the middle of the dry season with sustained temperature increases expected until April or May,” said June Garcia-Becerra, an assistant professor in engineering at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Natural climate variability heavily affects this part of Mexico. Three years of La Niña brought drought to the region, and then the arrival of El Niño last year helped deliver a painfully short rainy season that failed to replenish the reservoirs.

But the long-term trend of human-caused global warming hums in the background, fueling longer droughts and fiercer heat waves, as well as heavier rains when they do arrive.

“Climate change has made droughts increasingly severe due to the lack of water,” said UNAM’s Sarmiento. Added to this, high temperatures “have caused the water that is available in the Cutzamala system to evaporate,” she said.

Last summer saw brutal heat waves roil large parts of the country, which claimed at least 200 lives. These heat waves would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, according to an analysis by scientists.

The climate impacts have collided with the growing pains of a fast-expanding city. As the population booms, experts say the centralized water system has not kept pace.

‘Day zero?’

The crisis has set up a fierce debate about whether the city will reach a “day zero,” where the Cutzamala system falls to such low levels that it will be unable to provide any water to the city’s residents.

Local media widely reported in early February that an official from a branch of Conagua said that without significant rain, “day zero” could arrive as early as June 26.

But authorities have since sought to assure residents there will be no day zero. In a press conference on February 14, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that work was underway to address the water problems. Mexico City’s mayor, Martí Batres Guadarrama, said in a recent press conference that reports of day zero were “fake news” spread by political opponents.

Conagua declined CNN’s interview requests and did not answer specific questions on the prospect of a day zero.

But many experts warn of a spiraling crisis. Mexico City could run out of water before the rainy season arrives if it carries on using it in the same way, Sosa-Rodríguez said. “It’s probable that we will face a day zero,” she added.

This doesn’t mean a complete collapse of the water system, she said, because the city isn’t dependent on just one source. It won’t be the same as when Cape Town in South Africa came perilously close to running totally dry in 2018 following a severe multi-year drought. “Some groups will still have water,” she said, “but most of the people won’t.”

Raúl Rodríguez Márquez, president of the non-profit Water Advisory Council, said he doesn’t believe the city will reach a day zero this year — but, he warned, it will if changes are not made.

“We are in a critical situation, and we could reach an extreme situation in the next few months,” he told CNN.

‘I don’t think anyone is prepared’

For nearly a decade, Sosa-Rodríguez said she has been warning officials of the danger of a day zero for Mexico City.

She said the solutions are clear: Better wastewater treatment would both increase water availability and decrease pollution, while rainwater harvesting systems could capture and treat the rain, and allow residents to reduce their reliance on the water network or water trucks by 30%.

Fixing leaks would make the system much more efficient and reduce the volume of water that has to be extracted from the aquifer. And nature-based solutions, such as restoring rivers and wetlands, would help provide and purify water, she said, with the added advantage of greening and cooling the city.

In a statement on its website, Conagua said it is undertaking a 3-year project to install, develop and improve water infrastructure to help the city cope with decreases in the Cutzamala system, including adding new wells and commissioning water treatment plants.

But in the meantime, tensions are rising as some residents are forced to cope with shortages, while others — often in the wealthier enclaves — remain mostly unaffected.

“There is a clear unequal access to water in the city and this is related to people’s income,” Sosa-Rodríguez said. While day zero might not be here yet for the whole of Mexico City, some neighborhoods have been grappling with it for years, she added.

Photo Courtesy : Henry Romero/Reuters

Amanda Martínez, another resident of the city’s Tlalpan district, said for people here, water shortages are nothing new. She and her family often have to pay more than $100 for a tank of water from one of the city’s water trucks. But it’s getting worse. Sometimes more than two weeks can go by without water and she fears what may be coming, she told CNN.

“I don’t think anyone is prepared.”

Neerain is proud to republish this blog for spreading awareness about situation of water, for our stake holders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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CNN

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Author : Laura Paddison, Jack Guy and Fidel Gutiérrez

Published On: 25, February, 2024

 

Rainwater harvesting at your home in four simple steps

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Photo courtesy: Pinterest

Every now and then we read reports on rapidly depleting groundwater levels in many parts of India. The problem is further exacerbated during some parts of the year when water becomes scarce across the length and breadth of the country. Over the years, India has emerged as the largest user of groundwater in the world for irrigation, industrial, and domestic needs. The country’s burgeoning population is further putting a lot of pressure on its water resources.

We can take a few little steps to reduce our dependence on groundwater. To start with, we could save rainwater at our home or building in an effective manner without spending too much money. By using this method, an average Indian family can easily harvest enough rainwater to meet its daily needs of water for washing, bathing, and even drinking. Following are some of the simple steps you need to take to start rainwater harvesting at your home or building:

1. Cleaning your catchment area: This is the place where most of the rainwater is received and can be diverted from. First of all, you need to clean your roof or catchment area to prevent any dirt or other unnecessary materials from contaminating the water. Over the years, rooftop rainwater harvesting has emerged as one of the most popular options in India as it is easily doable.

2. Redirecting water with pipes: Rainwater will be redirected towards the container through PVC pipes. These PVC pipes or gutters come in cylindrical shapes and can be easily attached to the drain pipes on the roof to redirect the water towards the storage tank.

3. Installing rain separator and storage tank filter: The next step is to install the first rain separator or the washout pipe. It is basically a simple valve to block the entry of water into the tank while cleaning the roof and also during the initial stages of raining, when the water could be of poor quality due to air pollution and other factors. This valve requires cleaning after every rain to discharge wastewater or dust-filled water, which we usually get during the start of the rainy season. Besides that, you need to install another filter right on the storage tank to get clean water. This filter is also used to prevent the entry of dust and other small particles into the storage tank.

Photo courtesy: The Economic Times

4. Overflow pipe for the extra water: You also need to install an overflow pipe on top of your storage tank to release excess water. It is recommended that you put your storage tank at an elevated place to prevent any sort of bacterial or fungi growth around it and also for keeping it away from the reach of stray dogs or other animals.

Neerain is proud to republish this article for spreading awareness about situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

This article is published by: – The Economic Times

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Publish On: : Aug 16, 2021

India’s man-made water crisis threatens more cities

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Photo Courtesy : Ador T. Bustamante/Gulf News

Chennai water crisis isn’t an isolated case. 21 cities are expected to run out of water

  • 200,000 Indians die every year because they don’t have a safe water supply.
  • In theory, India receives enough rain every year to meet the needs of over a billion people.
  • A rapidly urbanizing and developing India needs to drought-proof its cities and rationalize its farming.

One of India’s largest cities, Chennai, is dealing with a crippling crisis: It has run out of water. In the middle of a particularly hot summer, the four lakes that supply the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu have dried up; together they contain just 1 per cent of the volume they did last year. Residents don’t have enough water to drink, bathe or wash clothes. People are working from home; malls have closed their bathrooms; and restaurants have shut their doors.

The natural instinct is to blame the situation on climate change and, indeed, the last monsoon’s rains were especially weak. While that’s certainly played a role, however, Chennai’s is largely a man-made disaster — one that more Indian metropolises are soon to suffer no matter the weather.

According to a study by the federal government think tank Niti Aayog, 21 Indian cities will run out of groundwater by next year, including the capital New Delhi and the information technology hub of Bengaluru. Two hundred thousand Indians already die every year because they don’t have a safe water supply, the report said. A shocking 600 million people face “high to extreme” water stress.

As the world warms, the rains on which India depends have become erratic: They frequently fail to arrive on time, and they fall in a more disparate and unpredictable pattern.

– Mihir Sharma

That Chennai should have run dry first is instructive. Less than four years ago, the now drought-ridden city was inundated by devastating floods. Though located on a flood plain, the city had paved over the lakes and wetlands that might have helped the process of recharging the water table. As a result, heavy rains couldn’t percolate into aquifers under the city. Water pooled and surged aboveground. That reduced the resources available to deal with a crisis like this year’s.

Photo Courtesy  : istock

Elsewhere, demand is the issue. In theory, India receives enough rain every year to meet the needs of over a billion people. According to the country’s Central Water Commission, it requires at most 3,000 billion cubic metres of water annually and receives 4,000 billion cubic metres of rain.

Inefficiency and misuse

But too much water is wasted thanks to inefficiency and misuse. The situation is particularly dire in India’s northwest, irrigated by the great rivers that rise in the Himalayas. Indians are taught to revere the “green revolution” of the 1970s, when the northwest became India’s granary thanks to canals and tube wells that pumped out groundwater. That revolution, however, has turned out to be unsustainable. In 2011, 245 billion cubic metres of water was withdrawn for irrigation — a quarter of the total groundwater depletion globally that year.

Northwestern states should be growing less water-intensive crops; areas in the east of the country that receive much more plentiful rainfall should take their place as the bread baskets of India. But shifting cultivation patterns around is politically problematic. Farmers in the northwest don’t just expect to continue to grow water-intensive crops, they also want free or subsidised power with which to run the tube wells that pump out their rapidly depleting groundwater.

limate change activists have long argued that water will be the political flashpoint of the 21st century. Water-stressed India will likely be one of the first places to test that theory. The state of Tamil Nadu complains that it doesn’t receive its fair share of the waters of the Cauvery River; recently, the authority that nominally manages the river accused the government of neighbouring Karnataka of holding onto water that it should have allowed to flow down to the Cauvery delta.

Things might get even testier up north, where more than a billion people depend upon rivers that rise in the Himalayas. Bangladesh and Pakistan feel that India is being stingy with river water. Indian strategists constantly worry that China will divert water from the Himalayan rivers that rise in Tibet to feed the thirst cities in its own north.

The floods in Chennai are a warning. As the world warms, the rains on which India depends have become erratic: They frequently fail to arrive on time, and they fall in a more disparate and unpredictable pattern. The country can no longer afford to waste its dwindling resources.

A rapidly urbanising and developing India needs to drought-proof its cities and rationalise its farming. Water-harvesting must be a priority, alongside mechanisms for groundwater replenishment. As it is, every summer is hotter and less bearable. If Indians run short of water as well, one of the world’s most populous nations could well become unlivable.

NeeRain is proud to republish this blog to spread awareness about the situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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Bloomberg

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Author : Mihir Sharma

Published On : 19 June, 2019

 

A world without water: Scary future lies ahead

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We are living in water-stressed times; there are water-haves and a rising tide of water have-nots.

Photo Courtesy : Deccan Chronicle

In his 2015 sci-fi thriller, The Water Knife, set in Phoenix, Arizona, sometimein the near, dystopian future, novelist Paolo aacigalupi talks about placesthat are catastrophically water-starved, where suburbs have morphed intoghost towns and where people are fleeing drought. A riveting character in the book called Angel is a “water knife”, tasked to infiltrate and sabotage the water supplies of competing states.

I read excerpts of the book. It is racy, graphic, and terrifying, and not in the realm of the implausible anymore. We are living in water-stressed times; there are water-haves and a rising tide of water have-nots. A friend who lives in Gurgaon recently tweeted that in upscale condominiums in his city, there is free, unmetered, unlimited water for residents and one can actually leave a tap running and go off for a week with no charge and minimal consequences.

Meanwhile, the residents of Chennai, India’s sixth largest city, are livingthrough horrific times, though it rained a little earlier this week. Chennai has basically almost run out of water. The city is almost entirely dependent on the northeast monsoon, which starts in October. Last year, it received very little rainfall. Even thousands of kilometers away from Chennai, it is hard to insulate oneself against its troubles. All the four reservoirs that supply Chennai its water are running dry this summer because of scant rainfall in 2018.

Chennai’s water crisis is front-page news; friends’ Facebook posts describe in grim detail what is it is like to go without enough water day after day. There are images and video clips of long queues of people around water tankers in searing heat; there have been reports of scuffles over water. Many of Chennai’s hotels are rationing water for guests, and some private companies have reportedly asked their staff to work from home.

This week, the state government has announced that a train will bring water to Chennai from Jolarpettai in Vellore district, more than 200 km, away at a huge cost. The Opposition DMK leadership is against the idea. In short, more troubles lie ahead.

Chennai makes the headlines because it is a metropolitan city. But it is by no means the only place suffering acute water stress. Nearly half the country is grappling with drought-like conditions, and this has been particularly bad this year in western and southern India because of the below-average rainfall.

The question that interests me most about Chennai is how did it get to this sorry state? Tamil Nadu was perhaps the first state in India to make rainwater harvesting (RWH) mandatory for all buildings in 2003. Chennai has more than eight lakh RWH structures. So why are so many people in that city facing such an acute water shortage?

There hangs a tale which explains just about every mess that you see in nurban India. A building with a rainwater harvesting system on paper does not mean it actually works. A bit like the existence of a toilet does not mean it is used.

It will not work if it is not maintained properly. Friends in Chennai tell me there is huge apathy among a lot of people towards maintaining these structures. The water crisis had never been this acute. Many of the rainwater harvesting structures in Chennai are also inefficient.

If Chennai and so many other cities are facing a water crisis today, one bigreason is that neither policymakers nor many people living in these places truly realise the horrors of running out of water. If it starts raining anytime soon, people will forget their recent sufferings. That’s why the inefficiencies in the water sector remain, and rainwater storage and reuse and treatment of greywater are not given the importance that they deserve.

Here is one scandalous statistic about water losses. Lack of proper maintenance of infrastructure causes losses of almost 40 per cent of piped water in urban India.

Photo Courtesy : Quizlet

Chennai is currently in the news, but the big picture regarding water in India is grim. The Niti Aayog, the government’s think tank, acknowledges that nearly 600 million people in the country face high-to extreme water stress. There is a deepening national groundwater crisis, with 54 per cent of wells declining in level due to unsustainable withdrawals for irrigation.

The Narendra Modi government’s new Jal Shakti (water) ministry has announced a grand plan to provide piped water connections to every household in India by 2024. But the key question remains — what will happen if there is no water to give?

What will it take to realise that time is running out and we have to also wake up to simple ideas about conserving water. India captures only eight per cent of its annual rainfall. This is among the lowest in the world. Our ancestors used to capture far more. But those traditional methods have been neglected to the point where most are in ruins. We also don’t use our wastewater well.

There is much talk about security. It is time to realise that water is a security issue. Millions of Indians are not water-secure. Fights are breaking out over water. In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has reportedly asked the police in all its 52 districts to guard water sources. An existential threat hovers over many prosperous pockets of India. A drought is a huge part of the problem. The situation is getting steadily worse with unregulated extraction of groundwater, which is depleting underground aquifers. Take Bengaluru. Whoever has money drills a borewell to tap groundwater in the newer suburban areas where tech companies are clustered in the city.

A few years ago, I remember meeting a young hip technocrat who told me that “l fear the day when I will have soap all over my face and there is not a drop of water coming out of the tap”.

But I also saw a fascinating initiative called the Participatory Aquifer Mapping Project, which sought to involve Bengaluru’s residents in sharing information about borewells in their communities so that the city’s policymakers could learn what was happening underground and begin to craft a suitable response.

Today, in this country, demand for water vastly outstrips supply; the situation can deteriorate sharply unless we realise that this is an emergency and we must treat water as a precious resource and everyone must work towards conserving it.

The future could well resemble dystopian fiction.

NeeRain is proud to republish this blog to spread awareness about the situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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Deccan Chronicle

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Author : Patralekha Chatterjee

Published On: 28, June, 2019

As groundwater level depletes, city stares at the bottom of well

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Photo Courtesy: Mumbai Mirror

Citizens across the city are reporting about an alarming depletion of groundwater. Wells situated in private properties and temples are almost running dry, they say.

Experts claim that although Mumbai is blessed with abundant groundwater, the low levels in the wells could be due to the massive construction taking place in the city. There are about 6,000 construction sites in Greater Mumbai, each one digging deep piles into the ground for making basements.

The issue was sparked early this month on Parsi community chat groups with members reporting low water levels in the wells inside several fire temples across the city. The well is a crucial component in any fire temple without which no liturgical ceremonies can be performed.

Juhu resident and civic activist Zoru Bhathena said the sweet water well on his property generally has 5 feet to 7 feet of water around this time of the year.

“This year, it has plummeted to just 3 feet,” he told Mirror. “I asked the neighbours and friends in the locality, and they pointed to a huge construction site near my house where the ground had a deep excavation for a basement,” he said.

“Substantial water extraction accompanies basement construction impacting water resources in the area significantly,” he added.

Several other residents in Juhu too complained that there was hardly any water left in their borewells with rocks at the bottom visible.

Bhathena has written to the Principal Secretary, Environment & Climate Change, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority and BMC commissioner regarding this.

The total water stocks in the seven lakes that supply water for Mumbai’s daily needs stood at 9 lakh million litres as on January 15 62% of the required quantum. On the same date last year, water stocks were at 9.59 lakh million litres or 66% of the required quantum which was also higher than this year’s situation.

In Thakur Complex, Kandivali (east), Nishant Mody said that they have seen a significant reduction in borewell water supply from January 9. Initially, residents suspected it was due to water leakage or a pump-related issue.

“We have had to increase our pump running time and reduce the water usage in the garden to compensate for this reduction. Our security personnel who also works in a nearby housing society, observed similar depletion around the same dates,” said Mody.

Structural experts and environmentalists Mirror spoke to said that they were not surprised. Alpa Sheth, a structural engineer, said that the proliferation of skyscrapers could be the reason. Most have 3-4 level basements.

“Mumbai is a city beside the sea and the water table is bound to be high. If so many construction sites are going to go below the ground and suck out the water, its effect will be seen somewhere,” she said.

Amar Joshi, a geologist, said that the rampant piling work that the city is witnessing could be a cause for depletion of ground water. “Besides, there are many infrastructure projects like the coastal road twin tunnel or the underground metro where digging is done several metres below the ground.

The groundwater that is sucked out is all wasted,” said Joshi. He added that borewells in areas like Dhobi Talao once catered to a much larger number of water tankers than at present.

Environmentalist Subhajit Mukherjee, founder of the NGO Mission Green Mumbai, said climate change could also be attributed as one of the factors to these complaints of depleting ground water levels. “Earlier, the rain pattern was such that through the four monsoon months, the city would receive continuous rain, allowing the water to soak in at ease. But now the situation is such that the city gets intense rain in a short spell, making up for all the four months.

This large quantum of rainwater cannot be soaked in easily, leading to a run-off,” said Mukherjee Bhagwan Kesbhat, founder of the NGO Waatavaran Foundation, who also worked as a programme coordinator with the NGO Paani Foundation, said that historically Mumbai has been known as the city of wells.

“The city was not dependent on outside water which now comes from the seven lakes situated outside the city limits. However, as the population grew, the need for these lakes was felt. Despite abundant rainfall, we have not taken advantage of it by harvesting rainwater. In the event of a bad monsoon, the water stress in Mumbai will be tremendous,” he said.

NeeRain is proud to republish this blog to spread awareness about the situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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Mumbai Mirror

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Author : Richa Pinto

Published On: 21, January, 2024

Rainwater Harvesting: A Viable Means To Prevent Water Crisis

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Photo courtesy:Istock

“Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink”

These all too familiar lines from the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge seem to be ringing too close to home as water becomes an increasingly scarce resource with every passing day.

Water Crisis was ranked as the #5 Global Risk in terms of impact on society by the World Economic Forum in January 2020, making it an alarming issue requiring an earnest redressal. What is interesting is that it is not really about scarcity, but rather proper water management. To quote the World Water Council, “There is a water crisis today. But the crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs. The crisis is managing water so badly that billions of people — and the environment — suffer badly.”1

For sustainability, a healthy relationship between natural cycles and the available natural resources is a must. To further this objective and protect the existing reservoirs, rivers, aquifers, and ecosystems from further destruction, one needs to harness the largest and most accessible resource currently going down the drain: Rain.

What is noteworthy is that harnessing rain neither requires no energy nor any natural resource; on the contrary, it helps preserve the much-needed fast depleting resource: Water.

Rainwater harvesting is an ancient concept that is simple to implement and scalable. Simply put, it is the act of collecting rainwater and storing it for later use.

Rainwater harvesting systems have many an avatar, from the basic rain barrels to collect rainwater to more intricate structures with pumps, tanks, and purification systems.

Rainwater collected through any system is fit for reuse. Without filtration and purification, it finds use in most functions minus consumption — e.g., flushing toilets, washing cars, irrigation etc. Once put through the purification process, it is fit for consumption as well.

In urban areas, the rain falls on roofs, buildings, roads, and other impenetrable hard surfaces, resulting in urban flooding giving rise to another set of challenges. This makes rainwater harvesting even more essential and advantageous. Urban flooding on one hand, and increasing water shortage on the other, is the driving force behind government norms to inculcate the culture of rainwater harvesting in more and more cities.

Let us take the case of Mexico City as an example. It is a city with one of the highest demands for water in the world. Today it is plagued by drying aquifers, the city to sink to the earth by 50 centimeters per year. Today it is estimated that while a large volume is lost every way on account of leaking water pipes across the water management system, heavy rains cause heavy flooding that leaves substantial damage behind every occurrence.2 Researchers confirm that if the city was to adopt an effective rainwater harvesting system, 60 percent of the city’s water needs could be met.3 In light of this, Isla Urbana, a local non-profit, has installed 20,399 rainwater harvesting systems from 2009 to date. The systems have recorded a harvest of 815 million liters annually.4 Mexico City’s water authority, SACMEX, has also installed rainwater harvesting systems in 85 schools in the Tlalpan and Alvaro Obregón boroughs.

Likewise, India — a country that can collect up to 1,000 liters of water or even more during the heavy monsoons — has shown a similar response. In the southern state of Kerala, the government has recently constructed around 87,000 rainwater harvesting pits across schools, offices, and residences,5 with the expectation of these pits to last up to five years, with minimum maintenance.

Following the trend, Singapore installed a rainwater harvesting system on the roof of a 15-story skyscraper. The system diverts the rainwater collected on the roof to two rainwater tanks. This water is supplied to the building’s toilets, with no processing or treatment — a demonstration of how a project like this can be successfully implemented in metropolitan cities such as New York with countless high-rises to cater to their equally high water demands (981 million gallons consumption per day, as of 20206).

But New York is hardly a city to miss out on the ongoing trends. NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection recently initiated a Rain Barrel Giveaway Program as part of their $2.4 billion Green Infrastructure Plan. Its objective is to encourage citizens to capture stormwater before it flows into the sewer system. The intention being to reduce sewer overflows into local waterways by 2030.

 

Photo courtesy:India Mart

The world is slowly but surely waking up to the fact that rainwater harvesting systems need to be an essential part of the infrastructure. Irrespective of the intricacies, all rainwater harvesting systems require five fundamental components:

Catchment – The surface to collect rainwater. It could be a rooftop, a paved flooring surface, or a landscaped region. The volume of water you harvest is a function of the surface area of the catchment.

Gutters and conduit Pipes – They are responsible for directing the water to the storage tank. The most widely used materials for these are half-round pipes made of galvanized iron (GI), steel, aluminum, and uPVC, with GI, steel, and aluminum being the preferred options. Lead and other metal gutters (GI and steel) are not a wise choice for potable water systems. The slightly acidic quality of rain can dissolve lead and other heavy metal contained in gutter solders, contaminating the water supply.

The safest option to get the most usable rainwater is uPVC Pipes. They deliver faithfully on the promise of:

  • water with no harmful metals lacing it;
  • no leakages on account of corrosion over the years;
  • their almost frictionless surface allows for the maximum quantity of water to flow to the storage system;
  • their lighter weight allows for installation virtually anywhere.

Filters and first flush devices – Investing in the correct filtration device is a must. The filtration system should be one that can effectively remove harmful and polluting contaminants. A first flush valve flushes out the first spell of rain, which carries relatively more toxins from the catchment surface and air.

Storage tanks – An important component of the system. Depending on the space availability, they can be overhead, underground, or stacked. Common materials used for these tanks are poly, galvanized steel, and concrete. If the tank is above ground, measures to prevent algae growth will be needed.

Delivery systems – Piping systems that deliver the stored and filtered rainwater until the point of use. The material of pipes used for this purpose is the same as that of conduit pipes. uPVC pipes present the best option to deliver quality water consistently over the years. With 50+ years of life, no rust, no

corrosion, no heavy metals, and an almost frictionless surface, they offer a perfect solution. High-quality uPVC pipes assure you of a leak-free, durable, and minimal maintenance delivery system.

While building a rainwater harvesting system or incorporating it in a facility, it is crucial to be careful while choosing the components for the solution. It is crucial to pick the right materials. The choice at this stage will define the efficacy of the solution and yield the desired results. Rainwater harvesting, if done right, can help the world tide over the water crisis, allowing us to leave a more beautiful world for your future generations.

Neerain is proud to republish this article for spreading awareness about situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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Water Online

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Author :  Saumya Jain
Published On: June 29, 2021

Making India water-secure: Solutions for the future

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‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ – this predicament of the sailors in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem is a portent to our collective futures; one with little to no access to safe water. In 2019, Chennai, a city that receives twice London’s average annual rainfall at 1,400 mm, had to meet its water needs by trucking in 10 million liters of water a day. The 2018 drinking water crisis in ‘Queen of Hills’ Shimla made international headlines when policemen were deployed on the ground to manage water distribution.

The NITI Aayog’s 2018 Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) depicts an unsettling picture of macro-water availability in India – despite being home to 17% of the world’s population, it has only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources. The total water demand in India is projected to increase by 22% and 32% in 2025 and 2050 respectively and, by 2050, 85% of this demand is expected to come from industrial and domestic sectors alone. Among the regions, the south and the northwest  are expected to face the worst in next two years. About two lakh people die every year due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene and ~820 million Indians living in twelve river basins across the country have per capita water availability close to or lower than 1000m3, the official threshold for water scarcity as per the Falkenmark Index.

To address this looming water crisis and ensure water security, it is imperative to devise a holistic urban water management system that can help balance biodiversity by protecting and restoring the health of waterways and wetlands, mitigate flood risk and damage, provide for sustainable and resilient communities, promote sustainable development goals (SDGs), and address the needs of the last person in the queue.

Photo courtesy : Ministry of Jal Shakti

Some of the solutions available to this end include:

  1. Rejuvenation / conservation of water bodies: Replenishing and restoring the health of natural water bodies and wetlands is the single-most effective way of securing a safe source of water. Cities, like Bengaluru, have 210 lakes, covering 3,622 acres with a capacity of 35,000 million ft3. Long-term efforts such as Namami Gange are also bearing fruits. However, for more localized solutions, it is important that traditional water storage structures such as vavsand baolis are rejuvenated and maintained.
  2. Rainwater harvesting: India receives bountiful rains – last Monsoon, India received 925 mm rainfall in just four months. A part of the immense potential to create sources of water through rainwater harvesting is being realized – as on February 2, 2023, more than 1.19 million water conservation and rainwater harvesting structures have been constructed across India.
  3. Government initiatives: In the past few years, the progress towards providing piped water supply and last-mile delivery of water has been stupendous. The one-of-its-kind Jal Jeevan Mission supplied tap water to 10.64 crore – 55% – households in rural India until November 2022 and more than 15 lakh women were trained for testing water quality through field test kits.
  4. Digital interventions: Technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) can help in flood prediction, rain forecasting, detecting water leakages, treating wastewater and harvesting rainwater. AI tools are capable of analyzing the data from recycling plants and suggesting ways to reduce energy consumption up to 30%, contributing to overall sustainable practices.
  5. Stemming groundwater depletion: Since agriculture utilizes the majority of groundwater, the World Bank has been supporting innovative projects targeted at the agrarian communities. These include Atal Bhujal Yojana, the world’s largest community-led groundwater management program and Paani Bachao, Paisa Kamao in Punjab that resulted in water savings between 6 and 25% without any adverse effect on the yield. With states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Manipur among others reporting high levels of arsenic in the groundwater, efforts for decontamination would also have to become part of the plan.

There is no doubt that the problem of water scarcity is one of environment, population, governance, health and well-being. Having to walk long distances and stand in long lines every day, 163 million people across the country continue to live without clean water close to their homes and ~0.2 million people die every year due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene. The population concentration is disproportionately high in Indian cities, 30 of which, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), stare at a grave water risk.

Given the seriousness and complexity of the problem, policymakers must therefore employ systems thinking – an approach that can create an ecosystem for innovation that develops big-picture perspective, focuses on opportunities in a problem, and fosters adaptation amid rapidly-evolving environments. There is no doubt that greater involvement of communities can heavily alter the outcome of urban water management solutions. At the same time, funding such programs can meet a roadblock, especially in the wake of the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Therefore, fostering public-private partnerships (PPP) that can work by engaging communities, funders, corporate stakeholders and creating awareness will play a critical role in achieving the goal ahead.

Neerain is proud to republish this article for spreading awareness about situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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Author : Dr Nidhi Pundhir

Published On: March 28, 2023, 2:23 PM

Five environmental entrepreneurs making money sustainably

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An underlying theme of sustainable businesses is innovation – through either a product, service or a combination of both. Here are five environmental entrepreneurs saving the environment and promoting sustainability through their startups.

Photo Courtesy : 30 Stades

Many entrepreneurs today are setting up sustainable businesses that solve environmental problems and still make money because that’s the only way to keep any enterprise going.

An underlying theme of sustainable businesses is innovation – through either a product or a service or a combination of both. Environmental entrepreneurs solve the pressing problem of saving the environment and aiding ecological balance.

Here are five entrepreneurs who are contributing immensely to the cause of the environment through their unique products:

1. Nitin Sharma, Go Waterless, Pune

Water scarcity left Nitin’s family car wash business high and dry in 2016. After the problem continued well into 2017, Nitin began to research products that could wash cars without water.

Finally, in 2019, he developed eco-friendly high-lubricity sprays that clean car interiors and exteriors without water. Go Waterless has been profitable since its inception in 2019 and is present in 22 states.

More importantly, it is saving 12 lakh liters of water daily and earning Rs 2.5 crore in annual revenues.

2. Ashvin Patil and Chaitanya Korgaonkar, Biofuels Junction, Mumbai

Ashvin is an MBA and engineer who quit his job as an equity market analyst to set up Biofuels with his friend Chaitanya.

The duo started Biofuels in 2018 with the dual aim of solving farmers’ problem of agri waste disposal and providing clean fuel to enterprises. Most farmers, after harvest, burn residues like rice stubble, cotton stalks, and coconut husks, causing pollution.

Biofuels procures agri waste from farmers and it is then processed into solid biofuels at the nearest manufacturing facility in the startup’s network. The company’s field staff monitors the quality and consistency of biofuels, which replace coal, diesel and furnace oil at industrial plants, reducing the burden on non-renewable resources.

The sustainable startup works with 25,000 farmers and over 100 top companies. In just four years of launch, it is clocking Rs67 crore in annual revenues.

3. Amit Doshi, NeeRain, Ahmedabad

When Amit Doshi was in class four, he and his brother would accompany their mother to fill water from a tap near their house in Kalol, about 35km from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The area’s borewells had dried up and the municipality supplied water every three days.

Growing up with water scarcity instilled in Amit a sense of purpose – to save every drop of water. One way to do it was through rainwater harvesting by collecting and storing rainwater that runs off from rooftops, roads, grounds, etc.

After a year of research and development, he designed an instrument to help people collect rainwater, which could be used to recharge borewells or stored, and named it NeeRain Rainwater Filter. This small filter unit with dimensions of 1x1x1.5 feet uses an engineering material called ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), and it was patented in 2018. Amit’s startup earns Rs 2 crore in revenues annually and is growing rapidly.

4. Vinayakumar Balakrishnan: Thooshan, Kochi

Having spent a large part of his life working in leadership roles in the banking and insurance sector, Vinayakumar decided to return from Dubai to India in 2013 and began research on food waste that could be used to make biodegradable plates.

He approached the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) in Thiruvananthapuram and funded the research on making biodegradable food plates from rice bran. Once the technology was in place, he set up a fully integrated robotic plant in Kochi to make biodegradable cutlery and Thooshan went live in 2021.

According to estimates, producing just one pound of plastic cutlery can take up to 78 liters of water and release 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg) of carbon dioxide. This plastic is difficult to recycle and ends up choking animals and polluting water bodies and soil.

Thooshan cutlery can be decomposed into organic manure or can be used as cattle feed, fish feed, or poultry feed. The startup is sustainable and environment-friendly.

5. Bhavini Parikh, Bunko Junko, Mumbai

In 2016, while working on her garment manufacturing business, Bhavini came across research that textile waste is the third largest source of municipal solid waste in India. With landfills having a limited capacity to take on the load, she decided to minimize fabric waste at her level.

“I realized I was also hurting the environment by being part of the fashion industry. So I thought of up-cycling fabric scraps produced in my garment manufacturing unit,” she says.

Today, her ethical fashion brand Bunko Junko turns textile scrap into stylish clothing, home furnishings, and accessories. Since 2018, it has saved 38 tonnes of fabric from going to landfills and empowered thousands of women. And her profitable operations clock Rs. 40 lakh in revenues annually.

Neerain is proud to republish this blog to spread awareness about the situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

This blog is published by: 30 Stades

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Author: Partho Burman and Bilal Khan

Published On: 29 Dec 2023

 

Green Building: From the Romantic to the Necessary

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The history of architectural discourse in the last few decades in South Asia, is replete with references to many architects who in their buildings espoused a sustainable or an ecological sensitive approach to their design. These handful of architects have been a source of reference and inspiration for generation of architects and in their own small ways many new generation of practices continue this great traditions. However most such practices are “boutique” in nature and very few have the impact at larger scale and volumes. So the pursuit of the “green” often ends up being a private indulgence of a few thereby resulting in sidelining of the larger issue of sustainable development.

Photo courtesy: Re-thinking the future

The climate crisis is perhaps the single most important moment in history in recent times and it would demand new ways of imagination and practice. The two areas that will need a lot of attention would be architectural education and building bye laws. For example the question of green buildings or sustainable development cannot be now limited to a few courses “environment and ecology” but will need to have an overarching effect on all the courses that are taught. The aim should be to inculcate a “habit” amongst young students of thinking about sustainability. One might begin by asking tough questions such as “Do we really need to built? Or can I not reuse an existing rather than built?” And how does one structure studio courses or even construction courses so that working with less and being sensitive to environment almost becomes second nature to students. There is a lot of possibility to relook at both curriculum and pedagogy in architectural schools.

Photo courtesy: slideshare.net

Whereas we do find many architectural graduate enter the world of practice with idealism in their eyes, but soon they surrender themselves to the demands of the practice that caters to new development. In the absence of effective bye- laws that incentivise green building, it is impossible to have any major impact on the climate and the question of sustainability will remain a lip service. Building material energy ratings, predictive models for estimating energy consumption in proposed buildings would be the first step towards incorporating the same in building blue laws. This would need a major redesign of building bye laws and its implementation. However, one may begin from offering tax waivers to properties that demonstrate sustainable construction practices. A good simple manual for architects and builders can be the first step in this direction. But perhaps a real beginning can and should be made in all the construction undertaken by government departments and local bodies. These can then become role models examples of “green buildings” for the rest of the architects and developer community to emulate.

Neerain is proud to republish this article for spreading awareness about situation of water, for our stakeholders. Credit whatsoever goes to the Author.

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SOCLEEN MAGAZINE – FEBRUARY 2023

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Author:  Prof. Pratyush Shankar

Publish On: February 2023