Rain water harvesting"

It was very difficult to imagine few decades before that you will require to buy drinking. The use value of water was never undermined, but its about time that even its exchange value is given due importance. Fresh water today is a scarce resource, and it is being felt the world over. More than 2000 million people would live under conditions of high water stress by the year 2050, according to the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), which warns water could prove to be a limiting factor for development in a number of regions in the world. About one-fifth of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water and with the present consumption patterns; two out of every three persons on the earth would live in water-stressed conditions by 2025. Around one-third of the world population now lives in countries with moderate to high water stress—where water consumption is more than 10% of the renewable fresh water supply, said the GEO (Global Environment Outlook) 2000, the UNEP’s millennium report. Pollution and scarcity of water resources and climate change would be the major emerging issues in the next century, said the report. These issues would be followed by problems of desertification and deforestation, poor governance at the national and global levels, the loss of biodiversity, and population growth, said the report - The Observer of Business and Politics, 12 October 1999. Rain water harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rain water for reuse on-site rather than allowing it runoff. Use includes water for garden, water for livestock, for irrigation, for domestic use with proper treatment and indoor heating for houses etc. In many places the water collected is just redirected to a deep pit with percolation. The harvested water can be used as drinking water as well as for storage and other purpose like irrigation. Rain water harvesting is a technology used for collecting and storing rain water from rooftops, the land surface or rock catchments using simple techniques such as jar and pots as well as more complex techniques such As underground check dams.
The reality of water crisis cannot be ignored. India has been notorious of being poor in its management of water resources. The demand for water is already outstripping the supply. Majority of the population in the cities today are groundwater dependent. In spite of the municipal water supply, it is not surprising to find people using private tube wells to supplement their daily water needs. As a result, the groundwater table is falling at an alarming rate.