KOCHI: Antoji Kalathinkal had his eureka moment over three decades ago when a fortuitous incident gave him the idea for a rainwater-recharging system, which has so far restored approximately 800 crore litres of groundwater along the state’s coastal belt.
“It was back in the 1980s, and landlines were a new thing,” says Antoji, a native of Chellanam, Kochi, recounting how he stumbled upon the idea, “On the day I had one installed in my house, I received my first phone call while I was watering my garden plants. In the excitement, I dropped the water hose and rushed to answer the call. When I returned, I realised that the hose had hit the ground so hard that its end buried itself deep in the ground, and that the water pressure had dug a 30cm-deep hole. It created a pool of water,” says Antoji.
“I thrust the end of the hose further and it kept producing water. I kept going until it was nearly 8ft below the surface. I lifted the hose and found that after 8ft the water was being absorbed. That’s when the idea of conserving rainwater deep in the ground struck,” the 70-year-old says. Antoji continues to recharge groundwater using the technique he calls a water syringe.
“Though the state receives a lot of rainfall, much of it flows back into the sea without getting utilised, especially in coastal areas where people face a shortage of freshwater. The accidental discovery helped me realise that after 8ft, the water is absorbed underground by gravitational force, and if stored well below sea level, the water can be used throughout the year. My rainwater syringe system uses the pressure generated by the temporarily collected water to fill a storage tank nearly 8m below the surface. The injected freshwater recharges and dilutes the groundwater. Based on requirements, the water can be pumped out. A motor pump is used to procure the water,” he pointed out.
Antoji has successfully installed his system in Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam, Ahmedabad, Pune, Maharashtra, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
“It needs to be implemented in Bengaluru, which is reeling from severe water scarcity. The system helps recharge the groundwater during the rainy season, and this stored water can be used in the summer. The system naturally directs the water deep into the earth’s surface, and a motor pump is used to draw the water from that depth,” said Antoji, adding that he has employed the system at his house for over three decades, and his family has never had to struggle for water.
On the possibility of saline water getting mixed with freshwater, he said the water is filtered naturally with the help of sand over the years.
“Several institutions in Kochi have adopted this method, including a school in Nayarambalam. One project is ongoing in Palarivattom,” Antoji added.