At a time when the city has received a good spell of rain, this Chennai man is showing residents an affordable way to harvest rainwater.
Forty-five-year-old Dayanand Krishnan of Chitlapakkam spent just Rs 250 to come up with an impromptu arrangement to harvest rainwater - purchasing two PVC pipe bends, a three-foot PVC pipe and a cloth filter that costs Rs 20.
With this, he simply created a diversion on his existing pipeline that helped rainwater flow from his 400-square-foot rooftop to a drum, collecting 225 litres of water every 10 minutes, he said. Before draining itself into the drum, water passes through the filter tied to the pipe’s end, effectively removing major impurities.
His family now uses the water to wash vessels.
“I thought I shouldn’t let the water drain to the ground. For the first five minutes, the water had a tint because it washes off impurities from the rooftop. But, after that it was considerably clear. We can even use it to mop our floors,” he said.
While these quick fixes may help temporarily, the city Corporation has been inspecting rainwater harvesting systems in houses within the Corporation limits and offering technical support to help residents construct a rainwater harvesting system. Those looking to construct one may approach Corporation staff in their respective zones.
Meanwhile, water logging was reported in Meenambakkam, Lal Bahadur Shastri street in Thiruvanmiyur and Nookampalayam link road, while waterlogging in the rest of the city was largely cleared by Thursday morning.
However, sixteen trees faced the brunt of Wednesday's rain including one in West Cemetery road in Tondiarpet, one in Anna Nagar Tower park and one in CIT Nagar.
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