The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Water conservation methods suggested

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Monday, Nov 26, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Water conservation methods suggested

Staff Reporter

Stress on eco-san toilets, rainwater harvesting

CHENNAI: One of the ways to conserve water, a resource that thousands of people have no proper access to, is by minimising its wastage in toilets. Around 4.5 litres of water is used every time a toilet is flushed. The solution? Waterless urinals, eco-san toilets and using only exactly the amount required.

Speaking at a Rotary International District 3230 meeting held here on Sunday, various panellists held forth on different methods of water conservation, in an era where growing demands for water necessitate both storage and careful use.

One simple method, according to Avinash Krishnamurthy of the Rain Club in Bangalore, is to re-use water that is usually drained away after bathing or washing clothes (‘grey water’) to flush toilets. Rainwater harvesting was another method in storing water that would otherwise go waste. All it requires is rain drum (plastic tank) and creating an outlet from the pipe that leads to the stormwater drain into the drum, Mr. Krishnamurthy said.

Eco-san toilets, where the urine and faecal matter are collected separately, composted and used as manure, were also useful in conserving water. Available in both the Indian and western styles, the toilets are odourless and are gaining popularity in villages, he added.

The city’s water requirement was 700 million litres a day, said D. Madavmoorthy, Engineering Director, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Despite receiving more than the average amount of rainfall per year, the city has a history of water scarcity.

One reason is the immense amount of water that gets wasted during distribution. “Leakage has now been reduced from 35 per cent to 15 per cent,” he said, adding that the department was trying to further reduce it to 11 per cent. He added that recycling and reusing waste water as well as maintaining the rainwater harvesting system would go a long way in conserving water.

A waterless urinals imported from the United States as demonstrated by Blue Heaven Equipments, a firm that supplies these urinals to universities, railway stations and other institutions.

Rotary International District 3230 convener K. S. Jayaraman said this was the third consecutive year the club was focussing on water management and conservation.

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