Pune: With rising awareness about rainwater harvesting systems, experts have urged citizens to follow simple tips to ensure only unpolluted water reaches the groundwater table.
Himanshu Kulkarni, Executive Director of Advance Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), said, “Rainwater is used as a primary source of drinking water. The best thing about rainwater is that it is free of pollutants as well as salts, and other natural and man-made contaminants. However, in urban areas, rainwater for harvesting is usually captured from the roof catchments of the buildings or houses. These roofs are full of dust, chemicals or silt. So water accumulated after first rainfall carries all these materials in the storage tanks, which can be harmful to health. It is important that after the first rainfall of the season, the rain run-off water is flushed away as it contains sediments, dust and chemicals.”
The convenor of Mission Groundwater, Ravindra Sinha, also advised the users to flush off the water after the first rainfall. He said, “Harvested rainwater is used for direct usage or for recharging aquifers. So it is important to ensure that the rainwater that is collected is free from pollutants.”
Tips for proper rainwater harvesting
- Roof or terrace used for harvesting should be clean, free from dust and algal plants.
- The roof catchments should not be painted since most of the paints contain toxic substances and which may peel off and mix with water.
- Do not store chemicals, rusting iron, manure or detergent on the roof.
- Nesting of birds on the roof should be prevented.
- Terraces should not be used for toilets either by human beings or by pets.
- Provide gratings at the mouth of each drainpipe on terraces to trap leaves, debris and floating materials.
- Provision of first rain separator should be made to flush off water accumulated from first rains.
