Each drop of water counts. This ought to be a mantra for everybody because the world faces a extreme water scarcity. Are you aware how a lot water is used each time
Each drop of water counts. This ought to be a mantra for everybody because the world faces a extreme water scarcity. Are you aware how a lot water is used each time you flush? In older bathrooms put in in India, nearly 5 to 10 litres of water are used per flush. For a household of 4 utilizing the bathroom at the least 3 times a day every, that’s a staggering 3,600 litres of water monthly!
Whereas newer bathrooms include low flush choices, what can folks with older bathrooms do? This query troubled the residents and administration committee members of Saprem Co-operative Housing Society in Thane, Maharashtra.
Thane, like many components of the nation, has been dealing with a main water disaster lately. With reservoirs drying up, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC) introduced a ten p.c water lower beginning in June 2024 to preserve the accessible water.
This has additionally impacted the water provide to the Thane Municipal Company (TMC). Consequently, it’s now as much as residents to take motion, each individually and collectively, significantly in gated communities and housing societies.
As a substitute of relying solely on the water provided by the TMC and buying extra tankers, the residents of Saprem CHS determined to change into self-sufficient of their water wants. How?
Learn on to seek out out.
A panacea for water woes
In-built 1997, the society has two wings and 64 flats in complete. Over the previous decade, residents grappled with main water shortages. “We had a number of days after we had water provide just for an hour or so. We additionally needed to name for a water tanker from outdoors, paying 1000’s of rupees each day. It was a really troublesome time,” Avinash Shaligram, secretary, Saprem CHS, tells The Higher India.
The issue was exacerbated in households the place everybody would go to work or college and return to no water. After enduring this ordeal for months, the residents started brainstorming and developing with totally different options. One factor was clear — they needed to save water in any method they might.
The society has a water tank with a capability of 20,000 litres. As they began breaking down the fundamentals of water utilization of their households, one quantity stood out — the quantity of water used within the bathrooms.
“We discovered that each time we flush the bathroom, it makes use of 5 litres of water. In a family of 4 members who every use the washroom 4 instances a day, it quantities to 80 litres of water per day. For your entire society, that was a whopping 5,120 litres of water per day, greater than 1/4th of the tank’s capability,” provides Shaligram.
They puzzled easy methods to stop this pure useful resource from being ‘flushed’ down!
To search out an alternate water supply, they performed a geological survey and dug a borewell. They struck water 350 ft under the floor and commenced utilizing this water for his or her bathrooms. This instantly solved their water woes, offering a 24-hour water provide!
Not stopping there, the residents sought a method to recharge the groundwater. To this finish, they constructed a rainwater harvesting system. “The rainwater that was being collected on the terrace was going to waste, in a drain. We needed a system that may acquire this water and divert it into the borewell,” says Arun Deshmukh, administration committee member, Saprem CHS.
The way it works
Corrugated sheets have been put in on the rooftop with bars on the aspect. Eight pipes have been fastened throughout the size of the rooftop to gather rainwater. These pipes are related to pipes on the bottom that channel the water to the borewell.
Put in nearly three years in the past, this method has made the residents self-sufficient and prevents rainwater from going to waste. They’ve been utilizing this water for his or her rest room wants and are actually exploring methods to make use of it for different functions. “We had the water examined but it surely was unfit for different use. We’re getting it examined once more now to see if it may possibly at the least be used for laundry garments,” says Shaligram.
Saving AC Water
As soon as this answer produced phenomenal outcomes, the keen residents regarded for additional methods to save lots of water. One other vital supply of water wastage was the water from air conditioners (ACs). Nearly each home within the society has an AC, says Deshmukh.
Throughout summers, these ACs run all night time and for lengthy hours in the course of the day, particularly on weekends and in work-from-home conditions. Usually, a one-tonne air conditioner produces 10 litres of water if used for eight hours — with this quantity growing primarily based on the dimensions of the AC. To forestall this condensate (a liquid obtained by condensation of a gasoline or vapour) from going to waste, Saprem CHS members devised a technique to put it aside.
An extended pipe runs down the constructing, with particular person connections to every home to gather the condensate from their air conditioners. This water is funnelled into a large pipe on the backside of the constructing, which is fitted with a faucet for straightforward entry. This pipe can maintain as much as 15 litres of water. This water is used to water the crops and wash autos within the society.
“We have now 25 vehicles and 80 two-wheelers. We’re in a position to make use of this water to wash them, successfully reusing the water. In summer time months, we additionally use it to water the crops,” says Deshmukh. Even when we contemplate that it takes about 10 litres of water to scrub a automobile and 5 litres to scrub a two-wheeler, this method saves over 19,000 litres of water monthly!
The society members are actually exploring methods to change into fully self-sufficient for his or her water wants. Shaligram mentions that they’re comfortable to information different societies in implementing related methods. The rainwater harvesting system and the AC condensate pipes every at the moment value Rs 1 lakh to put in.
“Water is a finite useful resource. We have to reserve it in no matter method doable,” he remarks.
Edited by Pranita Bhat.
Sources
‘Smaller rest room tanks might save 10 % of water’ Revealed On 8 April, 2015 Courtesy Instances Of India
‘Mumbai to face 5% water lower from Could 30, 10% from June 5 as lake ranges fall’ Revealed On 26 Could, 2024 Courtesy Enterprise At the moment
