Property Plus
Coimbatore
Understanding the worth of water
The understanding of water in the environment is the bedrock on which civilisation has built itself up and thrived across the world. The use of water has always been determined by its ecological availability and the ingenuity which humankind has developed in storing it, extracting it, channelling it and using it. It then enmeshes itself with life and becomes a culture.
Understanding the localness of water and water culture is crucial in maintaining water sustainability.
The city of Belgaum faced a severe water crunch some years ago. An astute engineer then turned to the open wells in the city dug by the British.
Identifying and cleaning the open wells, working with people to stop them from polluting the wells by throwing garbage, checking the well water quality and determining the hydro-geological availability resulted in close to 30 per cent of Belgaum’s water needs being met through these centuries old, beautiful and functional open wells.
A practical answer to today’s needs coming from the wisdom of history. The wells were not only providing good water but the cheapest water too.
In a large campus of a software giant near Mangalore, there is a beautiful suranga, India’s equivalent of the qanat, underground tunnels in laterite stone, tapping groundwater and bringing it to the surface for irrigation.
Preserving this suranga will provide a lot of water for the campus requirement.
Scouting around and learning from nature is critical to understanding how to be engineering smart and be water wise!
Nature and the locals know it.
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