Under ground water sources get stressed by Urbanisation. It happens through two mechanisms.
Firstly, as city population increases rapidly, municipal piped supply is not able to keep pace. Building new storage and pumping capacity takes long time and lot of money. People resort to the quick and easy solution of drilling a hole in the ground next to their house and putting a pump inside. In Ranchi, for example, one or two drilling rigs can be found working all the time in all the neighbourhoods, particularly during the summer months. And they are overbooked.
Secondly, when new houses, shops, schools, offices and roads are build, the capacity of the land to absorb rain water is reduced by about 75%. A flat ground surface like grassland or cultivated land has a run-off co-efficient of 0.00 to 0.3, whereas, the road surface or roof top or concrete pavement has a coefficient of 0.8. So instead of 80-85% rainwater absorption on a non developed plot, a developed plot absorbs only about 19% of rain water ( allowing for evaporation loss also).
This double squeeze, in which we draw more from the underground water source, even as we block 75% of what was being added to it earlier, causes the drying up of wells and lowering of water tables.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Rain Water Harvesting
More and more people like to live in towns and cities today. This trend may double urban population of India to above 500 million in the next decade.
Will urban India have enough resources to enjoy a decent life? Let us examine it with respect to a basic but important resource - water.
India receives 4000 BCM (Billion cubic metres) of rain per year, which is the source of all fresh water. Out of this, the usable portion is 1122 BCM (690 BCM of surface water + 432 BCM of ground water). Experts put the estimated water demand at 1069 BCM per year by 2025, which seems to be well within what the rains will supply.
But the problem is that rain fall occurs during three or four months only and that too with different intensity at different places(from 100 mm in parts of Rajasthan to over 10000 mm at Cherrapunji).
Therefore, rainwater must be stored in areas which have high rainfall and then large volumes of water must be pumped to thickly populated towns and cities.
The job is, however not easy. Large reservoirs and pipeline projects take lot of time and money to build. They also tend to create social turmoil due to land acquisition and displacement. The Narmada project in Gujrat is one such example.
People in towns and cities also use ground water for their needs. Large parts of urban India already depends on it.
Both, shallow and deep wells are used to tap ground water, which also has rainfall as its primary source and is limited in its capacity , as evident from the reports of lower yeild and drying up of the wells. The wells give less water or dry-up when we draw more than what got stored in the ground water system during rains.
So, what is the answer?
While city planners do have to worry about building more water storage and pumping capacities, the citizens can also do their bit and fit their houses and offices with rainwater harvesting systems for recharge of ground water.
It is interesting to know what it can achieve. Water harvesting on a 200 sq m plot can yield 250000 litres of water in Ranchi, enough for a family of five for a year at the rate of 135 litres per person per day. The cocept is time tested and was used traditionally in dry areas of Rajasthan and Gujrat.
The question is how can it be done?
Much literature is available, both in print and on the internet, to guide people on the techniques. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, provides guidance as does Government agencies.
I share with the readers here, what I have done for my house at Gaurishankar Nagar(west), Ranchi, Jharkhand.
It is a 1000 sq ft house having three rain water down comers which discharge on the ground.
The space in front of the house is kept unpaved and used as garden.
The back yard has been paved using cement slabs. The cement slabs laid with gaps in between is clearly seen in the picture. The gaps are filled with stone chips and the slabs are placed over three inches thick sand layer so that any rain water collected there is quickly absorbed in the ground.
On the front side, a rain water catch pit has been built.
It is a 5x3 ft pit, 3.5 ft deep, with brick walls and brick paving at the top. The walls have weep holes and the pit is filled with broken pieces of jhama bricks topped by graded metal and sand, overlaid with brick paving in a chequered pattern to allow water to go inside.
Earlier, rain water used to flow out of the compound. But after construction of this pit and paving about 4 years ago, it gets absorbed in the soil and nothing flows out.
This rain water harvesting facility was added in the year 2007 at a cost of Rs 12000.00 and has proved to be quite effective.
Will urban India have enough resources to enjoy a decent life? Let us examine it with respect to a basic but important resource - water.
India receives 4000 BCM (Billion cubic metres) of rain per year, which is the source of all fresh water. Out of this, the usable portion is 1122 BCM (690 BCM of surface water + 432 BCM of ground water). Experts put the estimated water demand at 1069 BCM per year by 2025, which seems to be well within what the rains will supply.
But the problem is that rain fall occurs during three or four months only and that too with different intensity at different places(from 100 mm in parts of Rajasthan to over 10000 mm at Cherrapunji).
Therefore, rainwater must be stored in areas which have high rainfall and then large volumes of water must be pumped to thickly populated towns and cities.
The job is, however not easy. Large reservoirs and pipeline projects take lot of time and money to build. They also tend to create social turmoil due to land acquisition and displacement. The Narmada project in Gujrat is one such example.
People in towns and cities also use ground water for their needs. Large parts of urban India already depends on it.
Both, shallow and deep wells are used to tap ground water, which also has rainfall as its primary source and is limited in its capacity , as evident from the reports of lower yeild and drying up of the wells. The wells give less water or dry-up when we draw more than what got stored in the ground water system during rains.
So, what is the answer?
While city planners do have to worry about building more water storage and pumping capacities, the citizens can also do their bit and fit their houses and offices with rainwater harvesting systems for recharge of ground water.
It is interesting to know what it can achieve. Water harvesting on a 200 sq m plot can yield 250000 litres of water in Ranchi, enough for a family of five for a year at the rate of 135 litres per person per day. The cocept is time tested and was used traditionally in dry areas of Rajasthan and Gujrat.
The question is how can it be done?
Much literature is available, both in print and on the internet, to guide people on the techniques. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, provides guidance as does Government agencies.
I share with the readers here, what I have done for my house at Gaurishankar Nagar(west), Ranchi, Jharkhand.
It is a 1000 sq ft house having three rain water down comers which discharge on the ground.
The space in front of the house is kept unpaved and used as garden.
The back yard has been paved using cement slabs. The cement slabs laid with gaps in between is clearly seen in the picture. The gaps are filled with stone chips and the slabs are placed over three inches thick sand layer so that any rain water collected there is quickly absorbed in the ground.
On the front side, a rain water catch pit has been built.
It is a 5x3 ft pit, 3.5 ft deep, with brick walls and brick paving at the top. The walls have weep holes and the pit is filled with broken pieces of jhama bricks topped by graded metal and sand, overlaid with brick paving in a chequered pattern to allow water to go inside.
Earlier, rain water used to flow out of the compound. But after construction of this pit and paving about 4 years ago, it gets absorbed in the soil and nothing flows out.
This rain water harvesting facility was added in the year 2007 at a cost of Rs 12000.00 and has proved to be quite effective.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Land is Property, Livelihood, Habitat and more....
The recent agitation by the Uttar Pradesh farmers over land acquisition and the death of agitating farmers in police firing has again brought the issue centre stage.
The media rose to the occasion and grabbed the issue for their Breaking- News stories. The politicians, never to be left far behind, also jostled to get maximum sound bytes and eye balls. Voices of farmers seemed to be drowned.
Briefly, the UP Government acquired land for the Yamuna Expressway, between Noida and Agra and claims that farmers willingly parted with their land and accepted a compensation which was much higher than previous cases in UP and other states. However, parts of the land was later allotted to private developers for market and township at rates 10 times that of the compensation paid. Therefore, the farmers were demanding a part of the profit made by the Government. The Government acted tough, resulting in agitation, killing of policemen and subsequent atrocities by policemen.
The controversy has also revived demand for amending the 100 years old land acquisition act. As a result the Central Government has promised to bring a new bill in the next session of Parliament.
This entire debate seems to be focused on politics and money- which political party is more guilty for atrocity on farmers and why higher price can not be paid to the farmers. But this is not an isolated case. Agitation by and brutalization of farmers/tribals on the issue of land is an oft repeated act on the Indian political canvas. It is time the issue is addressed head-on.
In my view, when a farmer or villager or tribal loses his land to a project it entails three things.
1 Loss of property
2 Loss of livelihood
3 Loss of habitat
Some people might like to add intangibles like loss of history, emotional attachment and identity to the list. But then these are intangibles and beyond the realm of compensation.
Presently the society and the State talks of compensation for the property alone. That, I think, is the crux of the problem. Social tensions can not be avoided unless the issue of loss of livelihood and Habitat (if applicable), is also adequately addressed.
The problem is complicated because often those who lose their livelihood and habitat are not the owners of property. Land belonging to a farmer or 'raiyat', as it is known legally, is the source of livelihood for many farm labourers. Similarly, land belonging to Government, forest department or a corporate house/PSU is often the habitat for many poor citizens including tribals.
The new proposed Land Acquisition Bill must take this into account and address it adequately. Otherwise, farmers and tribals will continue to agitate and die and development will continue to be halting, painful and bloody. It has taken 100 years and much suffering to review the old bill. Let us not wait for another century to find a good solution.
The media rose to the occasion and grabbed the issue for their Breaking- News stories. The politicians, never to be left far behind, also jostled to get maximum sound bytes and eye balls. Voices of farmers seemed to be drowned.
Briefly, the UP Government acquired land for the Yamuna Expressway, between Noida and Agra and claims that farmers willingly parted with their land and accepted a compensation which was much higher than previous cases in UP and other states. However, parts of the land was later allotted to private developers for market and township at rates 10 times that of the compensation paid. Therefore, the farmers were demanding a part of the profit made by the Government. The Government acted tough, resulting in agitation, killing of policemen and subsequent atrocities by policemen.
The controversy has also revived demand for amending the 100 years old land acquisition act. As a result the Central Government has promised to bring a new bill in the next session of Parliament.
This entire debate seems to be focused on politics and money- which political party is more guilty for atrocity on farmers and why higher price can not be paid to the farmers. But this is not an isolated case. Agitation by and brutalization of farmers/tribals on the issue of land is an oft repeated act on the Indian political canvas. It is time the issue is addressed head-on.
In my view, when a farmer or villager or tribal loses his land to a project it entails three things.
1 Loss of property
2 Loss of livelihood
3 Loss of habitat
Some people might like to add intangibles like loss of history, emotional attachment and identity to the list. But then these are intangibles and beyond the realm of compensation.
Presently the society and the State talks of compensation for the property alone. That, I think, is the crux of the problem. Social tensions can not be avoided unless the issue of loss of livelihood and Habitat (if applicable), is also adequately addressed.
The problem is complicated because often those who lose their livelihood and habitat are not the owners of property. Land belonging to a farmer or 'raiyat', as it is known legally, is the source of livelihood for many farm labourers. Similarly, land belonging to Government, forest department or a corporate house/PSU is often the habitat for many poor citizens including tribals.
The new proposed Land Acquisition Bill must take this into account and address it adequately. Otherwise, farmers and tribals will continue to agitate and die and development will continue to be halting, painful and bloody. It has taken 100 years and much suffering to review the old bill. Let us not wait for another century to find a good solution.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Waste and Pollution
All human activities- domestic, agricultural, manufacturing, or commercial, have a few broad features in common. They draw on material and energy resources, produce an object or service of value and reject the balance material and energy- in a degraded form. Often, the degraded material and energy, such as scrap, dirty water and low temperature gasses are not usable any more. They must be thrown away. And more mechanised/automated the activity, more is the energy/material wasted.
Thus, all human activities produce waste. The waste is thrown into air, into water bodies or onto land; in short, into our environment, upsetting its material and energy balance and diminishing the overall usefulness of natural resources. Orderliness or structure of the environment gets degraded and disorderliness or entropy increases. This state of the environment is called pollution. One may, therefore, say that every human activity causes pollution.
Fortunately, the environment is dynamic, not static. In-built processes within the environment system keep restoring its balance. But for that to happen one has to wait with patience, for days in some cases and for hundreds of years in the other difficult cases (such as plastic waste, detergents and ozone depleting substances). These self-correcting (or self-cleaning, as some would say) processes are working at a gigantic and global scale, though at somewhat slow pace.
Some of the natural processes which help clean the environment are:
· Atmospheric air getting dissolved in small quantities in sea, river, lake and rain drops,
· Green leaves absorbing Carbon dioxide gas and emitting Oxygen gas through photosynthesis,
· Breaking down of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules by certain bacteria,
· Oxidation of organic compounds into carbon dioxide and water with or without the help of bacteria,
· Absorption of chemicals and toxins by plant life, and
· Processes of the water cycle which carry large quantities of impurities into the sea- the sea acting as a huge sink.
There surely are other such processes, which are not mentioned here, or are not yet known to/ understood by our scientists. But we know that the self-cleaning capacity of the environment, in terms of tons of pollutants cleaned per year, is limited. We also know that the rate of waste generation in large parts of the world, specially the developed (and many developing) countries, has already exceeded the limiting values. Add to this the fact the human beings have unlimited greed for more goods and services.
Hence, production of waste and environmental degradation will go on unchecked, unless we change our behaviour and use natural resources with care and consideration. This change also needs to be reflected in political will and action of governments.
Thus, all human activities produce waste. The waste is thrown into air, into water bodies or onto land; in short, into our environment, upsetting its material and energy balance and diminishing the overall usefulness of natural resources. Orderliness or structure of the environment gets degraded and disorderliness or entropy increases. This state of the environment is called pollution. One may, therefore, say that every human activity causes pollution.
Fortunately, the environment is dynamic, not static. In-built processes within the environment system keep restoring its balance. But for that to happen one has to wait with patience, for days in some cases and for hundreds of years in the other difficult cases (such as plastic waste, detergents and ozone depleting substances). These self-correcting (or self-cleaning, as some would say) processes are working at a gigantic and global scale, though at somewhat slow pace.
Some of the natural processes which help clean the environment are:
· Atmospheric air getting dissolved in small quantities in sea, river, lake and rain drops,
· Green leaves absorbing Carbon dioxide gas and emitting Oxygen gas through photosynthesis,
· Breaking down of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules by certain bacteria,
· Oxidation of organic compounds into carbon dioxide and water with or without the help of bacteria,
· Absorption of chemicals and toxins by plant life, and
· Processes of the water cycle which carry large quantities of impurities into the sea- the sea acting as a huge sink.
There surely are other such processes, which are not mentioned here, or are not yet known to/ understood by our scientists. But we know that the self-cleaning capacity of the environment, in terms of tons of pollutants cleaned per year, is limited. We also know that the rate of waste generation in large parts of the world, specially the developed (and many developing) countries, has already exceeded the limiting values. Add to this the fact the human beings have unlimited greed for more goods and services.
Hence, production of waste and environmental degradation will go on unchecked, unless we change our behaviour and use natural resources with care and consideration. This change also needs to be reflected in political will and action of governments.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Save Tiger
December 10, 2010
Save Tiger
The conference at St. Petersburg, (Nov 22, 2010), once again focuses world attention on the sad state of our environment.
Only a few days back there was report of another tiger death in Sariska reserve forest. We saw several reports of tiger deaths/poaching in the recent months. The news invariably causes uproar in the media, followed by familiar statements by powerful people. Then there are long spells of silence and inaction till the next report appears again. It has become routine now.
I think we are not able to get a grip on the problem because we have got it all wrong.
Mr Nasiruddin Shah, who anchored the TV serial Turning Point some years back, powerfully explained the logic behind ‘save tiger’. If tigers are there it shows our fauna and flora are healthy, our forests are healthy and, in turn, our environment is healthy. Simplistic, but true and easy to understand. So, the purpose is to keep our environment pristine and healthy, and the tiger is the marker for that.
But every time there is news of any threat to or death of tigers in India, the discourse is always about the animal. It is all about the poaching mafia, business and trade in tiger skin and other banned items, corruption in forest and conservation bureaucracy, tiger census, tiger poisoning, human encroachment on reserve forest, etc. The total health of environment and forest is generally not in focus.
I think fast environmental degradation, which affects the tiger habitat as well, is the crux of the problem. Our forests have become much poorer. They suffer from all round deficit. Be it water, biodiversity, green cover, human population co-habiting the forest, flora and fauna or food chain, each has become impoverished. That is why tigers are threatened, their population is dwindling and their deaths, which are a symptom of the problem rather than the problem itself, are a cause of serious worry.
This is too obvious a fact for the officials, the politicians, the media and the experts not to know. What therefore worries me is why these are never discussed and addressed. Is it because both tiger poaching and conservation are big money and conserving the forest wealth is not?
Much heat is generated about the man-animal conflict and relocation/rehabilitation of forest-dwellers to save tiger. I think human beings co-habiting the forest are as much a part of the forest eco system as water, trees and other animals living there. If they are choosing to indulge in a life threatening business of tiger poaching for livelihood or greed rather than simpler and more traditional alternatives, the society must sit up and do something about it- urgently. Removing forest dwellers to villages and cities is as good a solution as removing the tigers to zoos. Man-animal conflict is as natural as animal-animal conflict. It is an integral part of the eco system and nature’s food chain. It is part of human evolution through survival of the fittest.
If tiger deaths are a symptom of a life-threatening problem for mankind, then the forest dweller is our frontline solder in the fight against getting extinct. He should not be removed. He should be supported with all might to fight the wealth deficit in our forests.
Save Tiger
The conference at St. Petersburg, (Nov 22, 2010), once again focuses world attention on the sad state of our environment.
Only a few days back there was report of another tiger death in Sariska reserve forest. We saw several reports of tiger deaths/poaching in the recent months. The news invariably causes uproar in the media, followed by familiar statements by powerful people. Then there are long spells of silence and inaction till the next report appears again. It has become routine now.
I think we are not able to get a grip on the problem because we have got it all wrong.
Mr Nasiruddin Shah, who anchored the TV serial Turning Point some years back, powerfully explained the logic behind ‘save tiger’. If tigers are there it shows our fauna and flora are healthy, our forests are healthy and, in turn, our environment is healthy. Simplistic, but true and easy to understand. So, the purpose is to keep our environment pristine and healthy, and the tiger is the marker for that.
But every time there is news of any threat to or death of tigers in India, the discourse is always about the animal. It is all about the poaching mafia, business and trade in tiger skin and other banned items, corruption in forest and conservation bureaucracy, tiger census, tiger poisoning, human encroachment on reserve forest, etc. The total health of environment and forest is generally not in focus.
I think fast environmental degradation, which affects the tiger habitat as well, is the crux of the problem. Our forests have become much poorer. They suffer from all round deficit. Be it water, biodiversity, green cover, human population co-habiting the forest, flora and fauna or food chain, each has become impoverished. That is why tigers are threatened, their population is dwindling and their deaths, which are a symptom of the problem rather than the problem itself, are a cause of serious worry.
This is too obvious a fact for the officials, the politicians, the media and the experts not to know. What therefore worries me is why these are never discussed and addressed. Is it because both tiger poaching and conservation are big money and conserving the forest wealth is not?
Much heat is generated about the man-animal conflict and relocation/rehabilitation of forest-dwellers to save tiger. I think human beings co-habiting the forest are as much a part of the forest eco system as water, trees and other animals living there. If they are choosing to indulge in a life threatening business of tiger poaching for livelihood or greed rather than simpler and more traditional alternatives, the society must sit up and do something about it- urgently. Removing forest dwellers to villages and cities is as good a solution as removing the tigers to zoos. Man-animal conflict is as natural as animal-animal conflict. It is an integral part of the eco system and nature’s food chain. It is part of human evolution through survival of the fittest.
If tiger deaths are a symptom of a life-threatening problem for mankind, then the forest dweller is our frontline solder in the fight against getting extinct. He should not be removed. He should be supported with all might to fight the wealth deficit in our forests.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Long term effect of Aila
The cyclone, Aila, not only uprooted trees and flooded towns and villages. It also destroyed crops like banana in its wake and has reportedly disturbed the rains this year. Fruit arrival in the markets has dwindled and food prices are soaring in amticipation of bad cropping season.
Naturally the poor will suffer the most. The poor have a bigger stake in environment and must be told so. All well meaning citizens and NGO's may like to come forward to create an awareness movement for common man.
Naturally the poor will suffer the most. The poor have a bigger stake in environment and must be told so. All well meaning citizens and NGO's may like to come forward to create an awareness movement for common man.
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