Nanikatechi is a small village three hours from Ahmedabad, in the Surendranagar district of Gujarat. When I arrived here, I wanted to learn about mechanisms people have developped to cope with water scarcity in this extremely dry region.  I took interest especially in the micro scale rainwater harvesting systems the village has been building up in the past five years with the help of local and international NGOs and researchers.

Well, I learned another lesson instead: A lesson about water quality.  Actually, today there is no water scarcity per se in this region.  There are three sources of water: The oldest are the borewells, from which groundwater is extracted.  Then there is the water from the distant Narmada river which is brought in through a network of concrete canals from Southern Gujarat. And finally, there is rainwater.

The reason why the rainwater harvesting was initiated in Nanikatechi was for the sake of health.  I stayed with a small group of Christian nuns who are all trained as nurses, and who settled in Nanikatechi with a Father, Regi, to deliver health services to Nanikatechi and the surrounding villages – they run a small hospital, and they distribute medicines to one village in the area on each day of the week.  Just a few years ago, many residents were suffering from kidney stones because they had been drinking the ground water, which in this region is saline, so Regi started collaborating with NGOs in 2007 to develop a more healthy source of drinking water.  This is why rainwater started to be captured for consumption.

The salty groundwater is also one of the reasons for the lack of crop diversity in this region: irrigation allows for two harvests per year, and groundwater has been used for irrigation for decades.  Though Nanikatechi  is now connected to the Narmada water network, that water is expensive, rationed and subject to annual fluctuation.  That is why many farmers, ever since colonial times, grow exclusively cotton – a crop that is tolerant to salinity.  Groundwater levels, however, are dropping at a staggering speed.  Also, once soils are irrigated with saline water, it will take one full monsoon season to wash the soil so other crops, like wheat, maize, or buckwheat, can grow there again.  As a result, many fields lay idle during dry season and yield very scarce harvests.  The issue is that cotton is not edible, and prices are dictated by a global market.  That is why many farmers in Nanikatechi cannot even assure decent nutrition to their families.  In fact, until recently, 75% of the population migrated to work in the service, construction, or manufacturing industries, often under precarious conditions, during dry season, and only returned to the village for monsoon season and, sometimes, for the holidays.  This is why ponds started to be built for capturing and storing rainwater on site for irrigation.

Both the tanks and the ponds operate at a single household scale.  A family of 5, for example, requires a rainwater tank of 7 x 9 x 6.5 ft to provide for water for drinking and cooking purposes year-round, while a family of 10 would use the rainwater for drinking only. The tank is usually buried in front of the house, doubling as a terrace.  Filling this tank only takes 2 to 3 good monsoon rains with a roof surface of 400 to 500 sqare feet.  After the first rain has cleaned the roof in the beginning of the rainy season each year, the tank is connected to the gutter by a simple 4″ PVC pipe.  Since 2008, 160 tanks have been built, and 30 more are under construction.  The Jeet Prakash Trust, which Father Regi is a part of, subsidizes the construction financially, covering 60% (or about Rs. 14.000) of the cost.  It also assists with the maintenance, and monitors the operation.

A rainwater pond that enables two harvests and, therefore, a 100% increase in income, would be about 40.000 cubic feet or 180 x 60 x 5 ft in size (enough to irrigate 8 acres of farmland). Here, the trust pais for about 50% of the cost (or Rs. 30 per 100 cubic feet).   Both ponds and tanks can be built with human labor, using very simple technology.  Once operating, a set of rules needs to be applied in order to ensure for the system to work properly.  Taking advantage of the subsidies for the villagers means to commit to these rules  – including, for the drinking water tanks, specific annual cleaning procedures, the use of chlorine tablets once a month, and opening the tank only once in three days to keep the contamination with dirt to a minimum.  For the irrigation ponds, farmers need to attend classes about crop rotation and double/triple crop farming techniques, ensure desiltation of the pond and pipes during dry season, and diversify their crop cultivation.  Failure to comply with these rules results in having to pay for a professional to do it.

This is what the second lesson learned in Nanikatechi is about: a system is only worth as much as it is appreciated by its users.  In theory, the benefits of both the ponds and the tanks are so obvious that one should think everyone in the village would want to install one.  In theory, also, the fact that each family has their own system is an incentive for villagers to maintain this system carefully. “It took us almost two years to really kick off the project,” sais Father Regi, “we ended building the first few drinking water tanks completely free of cost, and we had a demonstration field installed on our property to prove the benefits of the double crop techniques and rainwater irrigation to the local farmers.”   After that, however, it quickly became clear that drinking rainwater improved health conditions considerably, and those farmers who did invest in a farm pond were able to increase their crop yields from the very first year.  The Father expects constuction of new tanks and ponds to continue even after the subsidies expire, not only in Nanikatechi itself, but also in other villages in the region. However, from what I have learned during my visits and conversations I had with tank owners, someone will still have to monitor and control maintenance on a regular basis for it to work properly.

Building a rainwater harvesting system, even at the micro scale, is a long term project.

Water scarcity is a part of daily life in the quasi-desert state of Gujarat, and its largest city, Ahmedabad. With the city experiencing hyper growth, the tremendous pressure on its infrastructure is in-your-face, and groundwater tables have been falling at the rate of 2-3 meters per year because 70-80% of the city’s water supply has come from borewells. Those can be seen all along the road even today that additional water is carried in through canals from the distant Narmada river, some 200 km away. In spite of this, the daily water supply per capita today is a mere 140 litres (as opposed to 180 litres envisioned by the city ’s water plan about ten years ago). From the policy side, the city has adopted some new water regulations after a major drought hit the state of Gujarat in 1999. It now mandates that all new developments above a certain size to either capture rainwater for direct use, or to collect it in a percolation pond for filtration and much-needed recharge of the ground water.

In fact, several interesting layers of sophisticated water management infrastructures from different times in history can be traced underneath the organic urban structure in the dense old city of Ahmedabad.  Its distribution network dates back from colonial times.  Integrated in the old town’s community-based spatial morphology of ‘pols’, different sized neighborhoods organized around semi-public courtyards, is a system of fresh water supply and sewage pipes that cater to each house. It lies beneath the street surface, but is made legible by tall poles, indicating the location of the pipes and direction of the water flow.

Ahmedabad also has a long history of rainwater harvesting. The oldest example for this are the famous vavs, the monumental step wells that used to provide rainwater, collected during monsoon season, to the community year-round.  These structures are multi-storey underground water tanks shaped such that a series of stairs, on one side, would allow for comfortable access to the water level as it is slowly falling over the course of the dry season, while there is also a direct connection to the lowest point of the well from where water can be pulled up to the surface in a vessel. The step wells are adorned with artfully carved pillars and arches, and the climate inside is cool and pleasant. Examples of step wells that still exist today in Ahmedabad include Dada Hari Vav and Adalaj Vav, both built in the 16th century, as well as Mata Bhavari Vav, which is even older. What is interesting is that places of worship (both Hindu and Muslim) are either integrated in each of the vavs or can be found directly adjacent. Those, today, are still in use while the wells themselves have dried up.

The traditional wooden residential structures as well as many of the places of worship of the Old City incorporate a smaller scale version of rainwater harvesting. Water used to be captured from the second rainfall of the monsoon onwards, from the pitched roofs, then carried down through copper gutters and chains to be stored in limestone-lined deep tubewells (between 30 and 50 ft deep at 2-3 ft in diameter). The relatively small scale (25.000 – 30.000 litres per family and year) of the wells implies that this water was used mainly for drinking and cooking. The use of copper and limestone as materials ensures the high quality of the water to last for months; it is in fact far superior to the quality of water from other sources, including today’s municipal water supply. Maintenance and operation efforts, given the simplicity of the historic structures and durability of materials, are relatively low.

Since the construction of a large scale municipal water supply system, however, most of these rainwater harvesting systems, much like the step wells, have fallen idle. Interestingly, though, Nirav Panchal of the Heritage Project of the Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad has explained to me that people have been approaching the city in the past five years in search of advice as to rehabilitate their rainwater harvesting structures for daily use .

Why would people want to do that? It improves their quality of life very directly by providing for the safest, healthiest, and best tasting drinking water one may hope for, and it is reliable in the long term (a tubewell fills up with two or three good rains).

The most important thing for the city remains the combined impact of many, many micro scale systems

This highlights the role culture and awareness play not only for rainwater harvesting, but also for water conservation and grey water re-use, and ultimately for the water safety of the city. What shapes the water problems of entire regions, according to Prof. C.N. Ray of CEPT University in Ahmedabad, is the mentality brought towards the matter by people. He argues that this is why coping mechanisms have traditionally been more sophisticated, and per capita demand has been much lower, in areas that have historically experienced water scarcity, such as Gujarat, than in those with more plentiful water supply.  It is incredibly important to harness what remains of the pre-’near-unlimited-water-from-the-tab’ mentality.  Thas means to embrace the idea to restore historical systems, and even to construct new mechanisms for rainwater harvesting at a household or small community scale.  The traditional example shows how simple this is provided some basic design parameters are taken into account.

Now imagine this happening citywide. The simple collection and storage of rainwater from roofs could contribute about 10% to the freshwater supply, while also improving public health. Especially if combined with a similar system of grey water re-use, this could dramatically reduce the per capita use of tap water, and make for a much more sustainable growth.  Not only in Ahmedabad, but also in other cities and even countries.

public water pump in central Kolkata

Can there possibly be a scarcity of water at the geographical location of Kolkata, in the world’s largest river delta?  As to judge from the first impression, this is not so. Public water sources are scattered around the city, with pumps and wells distributed along major roads, where the water mains run.

It is around these water sources that habitats and economies emerge. Families have installed shelters (which often double as vending spaces during the day), tea stalls and street kitchens cluster where water to wash their dishes is easily available.

The other interesting thing about Kolkata’s water distribution system is that the city has two separate networks (in addition to innumerable private borewells): One for filtered (drinking) water, and one for unfiltered river water, for washing clothes, flushing toilets, and the like. A grey water system at a city scale, owing to wise urban planning that foresaw the city’s future growth and water issues as the infrastructure was first built?

The very idea of constant, publicly accessible water supply is one of exemplary social ideals, and the separation of filtered and unfiltered water systems for different types of use has great ecological benefits. Intelligent as this system may seem, it appears that it is causing so many problems today as to make the city plan to quit the distribution of unfiltered water completely. Due to leakages in the ageing pipes, the drinking water is often contaminated, officials claim, therefore endangering people’s health. Also, many of the poor do not distinguish between the hand pumps, delivering filtered water, and the wells, delivering unfiltered water, when they fill their cups for drinking. And it is no secret that the Hooghly river, especially so at this downstream location, is highly polluted.

If the secondary water supply was cut off, however, this would not only exacerbate (future) water scarcity, but many people would be left without access to water for their non-drinking needs.

According to official statistics, the city today has a supply of 202 litres of drinking water per person and day. That is more than twice the per capita amount available in Mumbai. Yet Kolkata is growing, and groundwater is exploited to the extent it gets contaminated with saline water in many areas. The city is starting to think about water supply as a problem, and to plan for new ways to deal with this situation.

In this context, it would be a huge mistake to neglect the existing secondary system of river water pipes. Fresh water pipes need to be proofed against leakages, whether the source of contamination be unfiltered river water, stormwater runoff, or sewage. And there is a huge potential the existing system could be used in innovative ways for grey water storage, by interlinking both networks as to feed grey water back into the pipes after usage, therefore reducing not only fresh water demand, but also sewage loads.

This, for Kolkata, might be one important – and inexpensive – component of absorbing growth in water demand in a sustainable manner.

Many interesting aspects about the reality of water distribution and shortage have been revealed from conversations I had with residents of different neighborhoods of Dharavi and Mumbai .  I had prepared ten questions for these interviews; however each time this was just the kick-off for lively discussions about different issues of water management. Here are some of the most interesting points.

The Durge family, from the municipal chawl in Koliwada:

The family of six gets water for 2 hours a day (4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.). For all residents of the municipal chawl, the     water is metered jointly, and the cost is included in their monthly rent. However, water pressure has been low, so the family’s 1.000l tank can not always be filled up entirely. This means that when the water will be capped for a day per week, family members will not be able to wash themselves or their clothes that day.

According to the Durges, the low water pressure is due to the many illegal connections that tap into the main pipeline which runs closeby to their house. They estimate that only 20-30% of the water connections in Dharavi are legal! One of the reasons for this is the price for a legal water connection: between Rs. 10.000 and 12.000, plus about Rs. 1.800 in bribes. Mr. Durge argues that corruption is the biggest problem associated with Mumbai’s water system, which is also the reason why illegal connections run by the water mafia that sells the water at overpriced rates to people that have no choice than to buy it, are not stopped by the government.

The Durge family is very interested in installing grey water re-use facilities in their house as part of a larger effort by the government for water conservation. Poor families, however, they think will need help to finance the equipment and installation of such devices.

Prince and Rita Koli from Koliwada:

Though having the privilege of a private water tap in their house, Prince and Rita reported about water fights happening in their courtyard between members of six different families that share one tap. A lot of water gets wasted in this process because it is spilled on the ground. Shouting happens on a daily basis now from 4:30 a.m., because the water pressure is so low that not everyone is able to fill their buckets, drums, and other vessels during the water hours. However, there is also a lot of solidarity since everyone in the neighborhood has to rely on illegal water connections. Day-long water cuts have already occured here recently. In this case, families connected to different networks (there is no obvious delineation between the networks) would share with their neighbors, though this can require to carry the water quite far sometimes.

The family of eight has an 800l tank, but due to their home being located on the 2nd floor, it only fills up half or one-third on average. A motor pump gets the water in the tank above the bathroom. The Kolis would require 1.000l daily to get by comfortably. Their water supply is metered and billed monthly by illegal water providers who steal the water from the municipal pipes.

Also, one member of the extended family runs a plumbing firm, which in Koliwada is a good business – only few understand the intricate network of hundreds of small pipes running through the alleys.

Bhau Korde, of Rajgir Sadan building, near Sion station:
Mr. Korde and his family live in a building about 10 years old, which has a legal, metered water connection. There are storage tanks on the roof, in the basement, and in each individual unit above the bathrooms. The monthly bill is split among all residents of the building.  He argues that there is a lack of incentive to save water generally in Mumbai, because of lack of metering. People connected to illegal networks often pay a fixed monthly fee, or not at all. For those connections that are metered, hardly any are metered individually, so the water use does not reflect in the water bill.

His call is to invest first and foremost in meters, and to have a flexible pricing system that would charge double the amount per liter for those who exceed the per capita availability of water in the city of Mubmai (currently around 90l per day).

Jaya Vimalraj Nadar and women from her community, from Sangam Galli:

This community is hit by the water scarcity harder than most others. The very small homes have limited space for water storage, and the number of existing taps per capita is below average. There has already been cases of several day water cuts in this poor neighborhood, and the women reported that the government has recommended to them to go back to the villages during dry season, because there is not enough water for everyone.

Actually, this is what they will have to do if water cuts longer than two to three days happen.  Threats for this to happen have already been expressed to the community by government officials, they say. This would mean people will not be able to go to work during that time, and Jayas daughters won’t be able to attend school or college.

Most of the families here are from Tamil Nadu, and they feel this is also an issue of discrimination against non-Marathans.
The women feel strongly that the government owes them better infrastructure, especially since candidates have repeatedly promised this before elections, literally buying people’s votes.

Water usage here is already very efficient; additional greywater re-use facilities would have to be very small and well-fitted into the limited space.

I have experienced an exceptional sense of community amongst the families here. The limited resources are being shared, and the women have organised themselves to form a group of spokespeople, who also take on other community leadership roles.I also had the opportunity to speak to several people living in larger, multifamily highrise buildings. Though I have found most Mumbaikars are extremely well informed about the water issues Mumbai is facing, among the members of this group I spoke with, some are less aware than others. Most flats have a 24h water supply, because the building complex would manage the storage, and would purchase additional water from tankers if required; however nobody knows where these tankers get the water from!

Individual water tank capacities are usually around 200l per person.A local architect friend told me about water issues in local building practice. Many of the newly constructed houses in Mumbai do not envision rainwater harvesting from their roofs or greywater re-use systems (for toilet flushing), though installation of such devices would be easy and relatively low-cost.  He argues that there is a lack of awareness of water scarcity for the city as a whole among those who have enough money.  A recent news article, however, suggests that the city is considering to make rainwater harvesting mandatory for all new developments, as is already the case in many big cities in India.

Many thanks to Larson Vaiti and Prince Koli for translating the interviews that were conducted in Marathi or Hindi into English.

When I arrived in Mumbai, the water shortage as a result of poor monsoon rains in 2009 struck me. The availability of drinking water per capita now fell below the mark 100l per person and day, and this situation will most probably worsen in the near future, first because the city is growing fast, and second because monsoon rains are becoming ever more unreliable.

Mumbaikars are very aware of this problem, as water is rationed and it impacts their everyday life.  Water is now available only for between one and three hours per day in peoples homes.  The government has also announced a one day per week complete water cut for each neighborhood.

The water shortage is also very prevalent in the media: articles in the newspaper appear frequently on this topic, there is a TV commercial saying ’save water, save lives’, and people have received text messages on their cellphones from the city, asking them to conserve water.

ways of water storage in Mumbai

It is my goal to find out what this means for people and really understand the issues associated with it.  Documenting the situation will, hopefully, not only trigger a discussion on this blog, but also make this crucial information available for everyone interested or involved in planning efforts in order to facilitate appropriate design.

I am hoping to gain more insight by trying to understand ancient and recent design examples across the country that attempt to cope with water shortage and learn from their successes and problems.  I then plan to explore opportunities and challenges of grey water re-use and rainwater harvesting in the particular context and the space constraints of Mumbai, most pragmatically, at a micro scale.