Best Practice in Water Management – A case study of Chennai

Abstract
Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu State, the oldest of the presidential cities in India and
the fourth largest Metropolis of the country. Demand for water is high in the city due to the
increased population, rapid urbanization and industrial growth. Chennai gets an average
annual rainfall of 1,290 mm per year, which is more than the national average. With the open
space area around houses and buildings being cemented, rain water, which drains off from
terraces and the roofs, and not percolating into the soil. Therefore, precious rainfall is being
squandered, as it drains into sea eventually. The Chennai Corporation Board with the
collaboration of NGOs actively promoted the Rain Water Harvesting in every Household and
Government Buildings to get out of the Problem by making a Policy of RWH and by
educating the people. The next Monsoon the results were very fruitfully achieved.

Introduction

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu State, the oldest of the presidential cities in India
and the fourth largest Metropolis of the country. Demand for water is high in the city due to
the increased population, rapid urbanization and industrial growth. Traditionally, the city has
depended to a large extent on groundwater for its water needs. But large-scale construction
activity has led to large-scale depletion. Over the years, residents have dug deep to find water
with bore wells going down going as much as 200 feet. In many neighbourhoods, particularly
those close to the sea, saline contamination have resulted in what little water there becoming
brackish.

"Chennai is a water-starved city, not a rain-starved one," says a leaflet which brings
new hope to a population thirsting for sustenance. With the open space area around houses
and buildings being cemented, rain water, which drains off from terraces and the roofs, and
not percolating into the soil. Therefore, precious rainfall is being squandered, as it drains into
sea eventually.

Description of the Problem

To make matters worse, the last three years (1999 – 2001) have seen poor rainfall in
the city with the result that the wells have gone dry and the bores spew brackish liquid. The
situation worsened to the stage where the city has had to support itself year-round with water-

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Best Practice in Water Management – A case study of Chennai

tankers that supply water around town. The summer season of 2001 was the worst, with the
government using railway wagons for transporting water from as far as Neyveli. In addition
to the huge cost of this exercise, only short-term relief is provided by such measures.

Experts maintain that the silver lining in the clouds which do not bring enough rain,
lies in a simple, economical and demonstrably successful answer – Rain Water Harvesting
(RWH). Chennai gets an average annual rainfall of 1,290 mm per year, which is more than
the national average. The north-easterly monsoons in the year 2002, were particularly good
and brought 30 per cent more rainfall than usual. Each year, however, almost 90 per cent of
the fresh water goes into sewers and storm water drains and some of it is lost by runoff and
evaporation. At the same time, the fundamental issue of conservation by recycling effluent
water also needs to be addressed. Sea water slowly seeping into indiscriminately exploited
aquifers could cause irreversible damage. Controlling and safeguarding precious water
reserves needs greater governance.

Measures Implemented

A group of concerned activists - of which Shekhar Raghavan, an RWH activist is a

founder-member - has come together under the aegis of the Akash Ganga Trust to popularize
Rain Water Harvesting. The groups runs information campaigns and helps install Rain Water
Harvesting (RWH) systems. Besides distributing signboards which proclaim, "This house
has a RWH system", the group intends to set up an independent unit installed with various
methods of RWH to act as an educational exhibit-cum-research facility for water table
studies.

This venture has the support of Secretary, Water Resources in the Chennai
Corporation. From 2001, the concept of rainwater harvesting has been actively promoted by
the Tamil Nadu Government. The Government’s determination to execute RWH was
translated into policy direction:
• Implementation of RWH in all Govt. offices, schools, hospitals and residential
buildings made compulsory.
• RWH structures made mandatory for all buildings proposed for construction.
• RWH became a prerequisite for obtaining new water and sewage connection.
• RWH made an in-built component for all rural and urban water supply schemes.

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Best Practice in Water Management – A case study of Chennai

The dead line to construct RWH structures was set as October 2003. It also warned
the citizens that the water supply connection would be disconnected, if RWH were not
erected. So the people build RWH structures in their houses.

In a typical house plot of 1 ground or 2,400 sq.ft in Chennai, if we capture about 90% of
the annual rainfall, it will amount to 229,950 litres. With some water conservation
programs, the captured rainwater can meet the entire annual requirements for a family of
5.
Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) involves a number of different things, including
storage for later consumption, or immediate use. Depending upon the soil conditions and type
of building, there can be many variations to the RWH design. The simplest design consists of
collecting the rainwater from the building roof-top, ground level surfaces, filter it through a
chamber of bricks and sand, then using a percolation pit, recharge the underground. Prior to
this, we can fill up available wells, baby wells and sumps with water for immediate
consumption.

The average water requirements per person are 135 litres per day. For a family of 5,
this translates to an annual demand of 246,375 litres. In a typical house plot of 1 ground or
2,400 sq.ft in Chennai, if we capture about 90% of the annual rainfall, it will amount to
229,950 litres. With some water conservation programs, the captured rainwater can meet the
entire annual requirements.

Results Achieved

The results of this bold approach are showing:

 The next monsoon, for the first time in 18 years,

"Now with RWH, the
newspapers did not carry pictures of the arterial G N King Institute certified
Chetty Road submerged in knee-deep water. It was one our water as potable
after just the summer
of the over 400 locations in which the Corporation had
showers - our staff
installed percolation pits near sidewalks for water couldn't believe it" says
harvesting. Rammohan, Chairman of
Sri Rammohans Industry

 Indian Oil Corporation's huge office, which consumed 60,000 litres of water a day by
pumping from four bores and buying two tankers of water daily, now has an RWH

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Best Practice in Water Management – A case study of Chennai

system. This company is now self-sufficient in its water needs, the quality of water
has improved tremendously, the car park no longer floods during the monsoons and
the system has paid itself off already.

There are other examples too....

 Alacrity Foundations, a reputed blue-chip building

company has made RWH a mandatory part of its project
proposals; the 600-acre Anna University campus no
longer pays a water bill of Rs 600,000 every month while
its neighbour, the prestigious Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), had to postpone exams last semester
and shut down the campus for want of water.

 Sriram Rammohan's industrial unit employs over 400 workers who had no option but
to use water from wells that had been contaminated by over-exploitation and
effluents. "Now with Rain Water Harvesting (RWH), the King Institute certified our
water as potable after just the summer showers - our staff couldn't believe it" says
Rammohan, Chairman of Industry.

In an attempt to take the movement further, Anna University's engineering students do

house-to-house canvassing in residential areas for RWH. Over 6,000 households have
benefited from superior and surplus water with a system that pays itself off in less than a
year. In the perennially dry Padmanabha Nagar, a citizen's movement has seen 80 per cent of
the houses install RWH. Some of them have not had to buy water for over two years.

It is not raining only good results, though. There are 350,000 plots of residential land
and the number covered by RWH is pitiably small. Vast stretches of public spaces pose
another serious concern. Harvesting remains a privilege outside the economic reach of
hutments and slums. And even those who belong to the more well-off sections of society
have not exploited the benefits of RWH as much as they could have. Via a small network of
percolation pits and interconnected pipes, a complex of six flats (real estate worth over Rs 10
million) would just need around Rs 20,000 to take care of its future water needs.

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Best Practice in Water Management – A case study of Chennai

RWH Tank for storage of water in a

household in Chennai

A leaflet distributed by Chennai Metro Water

Board to encourage Rain Water Harvesting

Unit Showing the Storing of Rain Water

in a Small Pit

References
1. http://www.indiatogether.org/env
ironment/articles/waterharvest.ht
m

2. www.indiatogether.org/environment/water/model.htm
3. www.thebetterindia.com/topics/rain-water-harvesting

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