International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance

Newsletter n° 14 - January 2006
"A promise is a cloud; fulfilment is rain"
Arabian proverb

Dear Rainwater Harvesters,
The IRHA secretariat would like to wish all its sponsors, members, partners & monthly newsletter readers a successful, healthy & appropriately rainy year - not too wet & not too dry. This edition contains information on:

• Rainwater
• Rainwater, Drinking Water Quality & the World Health Organisation
• Call for Help from Global Water Partnership - Caribbean
• Sithinakhaa : The day of Water Optimization & Sanitation
• Rainwater Proverbs for the 4th World Water Forum
• Right as Rain, Thanks to WaterAid
• Rainwater Harvesting Success in a Troubled Region
• And What About Rainwater Harvesting in France?
• A Prestigious Award for an IRHA Board Member
• Drought may have Shaped History
• New Publications
• IRHA Membership

Rainwater

Precipitation is the primary source of fresh water in our planet's hydrologic cycle, & supplies all secondary sources including groundwater & surface water in creeks. Rain is one of our purest sources of water, since it is naturally distilled through evaporation prior to cloud formation. It is considered soft due to the lack of calcium carbonate or magnesium in solution, & is excellent for cooking, washing, & saving energy. Rainwater comes to us free of charge.

Despite these advantages, the majority of our home landscapes & community infrastructure have been designed to drain the rain off site as quickly as possible. This is literally dehydrating our land, escalating erosion, increasing downstream flooding, & exasperating the effects of drought across the United States. As a result, more water from costly water importation projects & deep aquifer pumping replaces natural rainwater wastefully drained away. But there is a better way…

Thanks to Brad Lancaster. See Publications, below.


Rainwater, Drinking Water Quality & the World Health Organisation (WHO)

The IRHA secretariat feels that helping this WHO project will be a very important means of advancing & mainstreaming rainwater use. It will also contribute to an initial position for the World Water Conference in March 2006 in Mexico. Can you help?

The team from the WHO South East Asia Regional Office is developing a "Guidance document on water safety and health aspects of rainwater harvesting & storage". This document will be a scientific contribution to the texts that will go into the process of the rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.

Can you suggest papers or concerns, referring to other researchers in RWH, such that eventually the team can develop a good & clear position on the health aspects of rainwater?
The team has currently identified the following tasks:
1. Collection of relevant papers/articles/reports with particular reference to RWH & Health issues to update the earlier bibliographies prepared under EU project.
2. The team intends to bring out a select bibliography along with an Annotated paper on the microbiological & chemical issues identified as relevant to rainwater & Health Risks (from now- February 2006).
3. The team plans to look at the methods & techniques for Rain Water Quality testing including the discussion of proxy indicators (till April 2006).
4. To touch upon many other factors that determine the eventual quality of rainwater for drinking. This would also provide a comprehensive overview of risks associated (till May 2006).
5. Collection & evaluation of existing water safety plans in RWH (till July 2006).
The WHO team would very much appreciate receiving relevant information/papers/views /references/articles /reports etc. on the tasks (along with dead lines) as described above.

We look forward to your kind cooperation in this regard. The WHO team will make sure that it records your contributions & keep you abreast of progress in this matter. Please send your information to: secretariat@irha-h2o.org .

For more information on the World Health Organisation visit: www.who.int


Can You Help the Global Water Partnership - Caribbean?

The Global Water Partnership in the Caribbean is seeking to research best practices in rainwater harvesting for domestic & agricultural. They are especially interested in case studies & models which could be suited for small island developing states (SIDS) or areas with terrain & soil types that are flat with limestone or clay soils, & hilly with volcanic soils. If you have any information which would help our friends from GWP-Caribbean please write to:
secretariat@irha-h2o.org & we will forward it to them.

For more information on the Global Water Partnership visit: www.gwpforum.org


Sithinakhaa : The day of Water Optimization & Sanitation

Water plays a crucial role in Nepali life. Once upon a time, the Kathmandu Valley was filled with holy water, as the legend goes. It is said that Saint Mahamanjushri from China came here, drained off the water & managed to turn the valley into a settlement. But ironically, Kathmandu is now facing a severe water shortage. If we fail to address this problem in time, it is certain that it will become gigantic.

Knowing the importance of water, the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley have kept a place for water in the development of their civilisation. Ancient society taught the people to be aware of water's importance by involving it in their culture & giving it a special role in social life. But unfortunately, by blindly following modernism we have forgotten that part of our culture, heritage & skill, related to water. In ancient times, people use to worship nature & for them, water found in nature & the sources of water were sacred places.

Since at least the 10th century, people built wells & stone spouts in this valley. By relating water to religion, people started constructing open rest houses & temples too, which helped development of mechanism to bring water from the sources to settlement areas. Historically the state constructed water spouts so that general public might have easy access to drinking water. Royal families used to be active in having public stone spouts & ponds constructed in & around cities. And to make them artistic & to raise religious value of water spouts or to give such places a religious look, images of gods & goddess used to be placed there. The Sundharas of Kathmandu & Patan are good examples of this tradition. This continued until piped water supply was brought to the Kathmandu Valley in 1891.

The festival of Sithinakha, also known as Kumar Shasthi, falls before the beginning of the Monsoon season. At this time, before rainwater recharges them, water levels in wells & ponds are low thus making it easy for the people to climb down there & clean them. Cleaning wells & ponds has become not only hygienic but also a religious & cultural phenomenon. A religious belief is set that on this day, the snakes other aquatic living creatures go for cultural event of Dewali & thus is safe for the people to go & clean them to make the snakes happy.

However, despite the strong religious & cultural backing, people these days are slowly discontinuing it & in many areas, the young generation is even ignorant about this festival & logic supporting it. One among the reasons behind extinction of the traditional sources of water is people's indifference to them after they start getting piped water at their homes. But it has become almost late to realize that neglecting our existing sources of water in the name of urbanization & development is our big mistake that we & future generations will have to bear.

It is high time to revive the old culture & technology in today's context by celebrating Sithinakha as a day of water optimization & sanitation could be a timely solution. We would solve the present crisis of water to a great extent if we could raise awareness among the people that we should conserve our water heritage & clean our water sources. We can also teach people to utilize & harvest the existing water sources. The biggest step toward it is to open people's eyes, to make them realize that cleaning of water sources can lead us to better life. And reviving the Sithinakha as a festival & celebrating it with new slogan could even unshackle us from the acute drinking water crisis in the valley. We will not make the valley a pond as it was in legend but we can certainly make it free from water shortage & the obligation of waking up in the middle of night for a bucket or two of the water.

By Prakash Amatya, Executive Director of IRHA member "NGO Forum for Urban Water & Sanitation", Nepal. See: www.ngoforum.net for more information.


Rainwater Proverbs for the 4th World Water Forum

As you know IRHA is convening a session at March's 4th World Water Forum in Mexico. It will also be present on the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation stand. IRHA wishes to attract attention to the stand where it hopes to be offering "Lluviatl" brand rainwater in bottles from CIDECALLI (International Centre for Demonstration & Training in Utilising Rainwater - of Texcoco Post-graduate College).

We would also like you to send us in some pertinent rainwater proverbs to post up around the stand. "When you see clouds gathering, prepare to catch rainwater," is a proverb of the Gola tribe of Africa. "A guest is like rain: when he lingers on, he becomes a nuisance," is a funny Yiddish proverb. We look forward to any more which you might send us.


Right as Rain, Thanks to WaterAid

Imagine the worry of you or your child being ill & knowing you will not be able to see a
doctor unless you can bring at least a 10 litre jerry-can of water with you. It is the dry season
& you can't even get that amount for your whole family to drink, eat & wash with, & what
water you can find is unsafe to drink.

Until recently, this was the situation for many of the poorest people living in Uganda's
Wakiso district, not far from the capital Kampala. Although it has capacity for only around 50 in-patients & 60 out-patients at any one time, the long-established Buwambo Health Unit is the
main health centre for this very densely populated area. It is under-staffed & under-equipped
&, tragically, lack of water for basic cleaning, washing & drinking meant that all the hard
work of the staff was often in vain, as patients struggled against disease & infections. The situation was so dire that patients themselves frequently had to climb up & down a steep
slope into a valley at the back of the clinic to get even dirty water from a broken-down pump shared with surrounding communities.

Now, with WaterAid's support, a local NGO, YIFODA (Youth Initiative for Development Association), has constructed a 30,000-litre rainwater catchment tank at the clinic. The new rainwater tank will provide enough water for the clinic's needs. The roofs of existing buildings channel rainwater through guttering into the tank, which filters & stores the water & dispenses it from a tap.

During peak times of the rainy season, the clinic director also allows neighbouring villagers to use the tap, as there is plenty to go around. To minimise pressure during the rest of the year however, YIFODA has also constructed a new hand-pump not far away, where it can be accessed at all times by anyone who needs it.

Now people who come to the clinic no longer have to climb to collect dirty water - instead they can come to be looked after with safe, clean water on tap.

See: www.wateraid.org.uk


Rainwater Harvesting Success in a Troubled Region

This article was sent in by Shree Padre, a journalist with many years of experience in agricultural reporting & the author of several books, including one on rainwater harvesting. You can read the whole story on:
http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/jan/env-jayafarm.htm

Nagavalli tank, in Tumkur, Karnataka, covering 288 hectares, is the region's traditional lifeline for farming. This tank had dried once four decades ago. But it's failure to hold water for the last five years has turned into a curse for the local economy.

Borrowing heavily from banks, farmers have sunk hundreds of bore wells in the adjoining villages. This has only aggravated the problem. The numbers of bore wells are increasing, but water is still scarcer. A water market has cropped up with farmers selling irrigation water to other farmers at Rs 40-50 per hour of supply. The downfall in the income has compelled a bank to downgrade its Nagavalli branch to an extension counter.


In stark contrast, the Jaya farm belonging to agriculture graduate Jayanna, now 75, shows rays of hope. Totalling 45 acres, the farm has bid good-bye to water shortage to a considerable extent. "Most of our gardens too would have withered by now, leaving us in misery," says B J Kumara Swamy, 41, Jayanna's engineer-turned-farmer son. Apart from the main crop of coconut, they grow areca nut, cocoa, paddy, etc. Jaya farm's turnaround is due to intensive soil & water conservation measures followed in the last decade, & this has cost the family Rs 8 lakh. Their turnover from the farm runs to Rs 4-5 lakhs, annually. (1 lakh = 100,000.)

In the 1990s Swamy came to know about rainwater harvesting (RWH) from the local media. Today 40 out of the 45 acres have zero-run-off, i.e., all the rainwater that falls in this area does not run away outside. Starting from contour bunds & trenches, Swamy has taken shelter in many soil & water conservation measures to suit the specific conditions. In doing so, he has used common sense. For example, the mango orchard has the most fertile soil of the whole farm & Swamy was reluctant to 'waste' the same soil for trenching or bunding. So, he brought tank-silt from nearby area & utilised it for bunding.

Yet, the message is spreading, albeit in a snail-like pace. Others have followed Swamy & have got success. "If we have to attain sustainability," says Swamy with hope, "each and every farmer in the whole area has to follow such measures."


His mulching & RWH has permitted him to start irrigation at least two months later than his neighbours. Some of his coconut trees, as an experiment are totally rain fed today. And the yield, according to him, is encouraging. Swamy has no regret for spending a fortune on soil & water conservation. "I harvest about half a crore litres falling from my neighbours lands. As per my calculation, for each rupee spent, I catch 100 litres of rain. If I haven't resorted to these measures, I would have ended up digging three times more bore wells than what I have today, of course with no better results. Now I am convinced that we can raise gardens here without bore-wells & drip irrigation."


Farmers have to be convinced that the solution is not in digging more & more bore wells, but in catching rain & retaining top soil, soil moisture & fertility. For their part, instead of shutting down branches, banks may do well by taking up enlightenment programmes to inspire farmers to take up soil & water conservation. Exposure visits to farms like Swamy's would slowly draw their attention towards earth-repair work. This would, in the long run, mean bringing back the sustainability of farming as well as banking in such drought-prone belts.


And What About Rainwater Harvesting in France?

The following is a question tabled in France's Official Journal on 25th November 2005, page 9856, & the response published on 13th December 2005 on page 11527.

Question:
"Mrs Marguerite Lamour would like to draw Madame the Minister of Ecology & Sustainable Development's attention to the theme of rainwater harvesting policy in France. It is a fact that water resources are diminishing every day. As a means of saving water, one solution would be a more vigorous pursuit of actions in favour of rainwater harvesting. Certain European countries, such as Belgium, Sweden, Germany & Norway, are very advanced in rainwater harvesting for domestic & industrial use. Mrs Lamour is questioning the Minister to find out the government's intentions concerning the promotion of rainwater harvesting, notably through fiscal incentives. She thanks the Minister in advance of her response."

Response:
The Minister of Ecology & Sustainable Development took note, with interest, of the questions concerning incentives for the installation of rainwater harvesting systems. With a view to sustainable & more rational management of water resources, rainwater catchments for uses which do not require drinking water quality can be used profitably. They allow water savings & diminish the amount of water in the sewage system during important rain events. There is nothing to stop the stocking of this water in tanks to water one's garden, for example. Such a practice also has its ecological side because it avoids using drinking water for uses which do not necessarily require water of irreproachable quality.


This type of set up is spreading little by little, notably on environmentally friendly buildings as well in municipal park services. However, reusing rainwater for domestic use should not be encouraged unless the health, technical & regulatory aspects of its development have been clearly set out. In fact, rainwater is not necessarily clean: in contact with the air & as it runs off roofs it picks up pollutants & its reuse would necessitate treatment.

Our experience of recent droughts & the impact of climate change make necessary a new stage aimed at reducing drinking water supply's vulnerability to drought. This is why a global overview of the situation was recently communicated to a cabinet ministers' meeting. This does not mean replacing the organisations in place, but widening the safety margins when faced with repeated droughts whose cumulated effects can be a heavy burden.

Thanks to Henri Smets. As all water starts off as rain, surely all water has collected those pollutants in the air. The IRHA secretariat looks forward to sending the WHO "Guidance document on water safety and health aspects of rainwater harvesting & storage" to the minister.


A Prestigious Award for an IRHA Board Member

We are pleased to pass on the news that Crispino Lobo, co-founder, managing trustee & till recently Executive Director of the Watershed Organisation Trust, was presented with the "Outstanding Social Entrepreneurship Award" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: "In recognition of visionary, pragmatic & courageous contributions that significantly the state of the world's people." This was in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on 29th November 2005 during the India Business Summit held at New Delhi, organized by the World Economic Forum & the Confederation of Indian Industry. Congratulations, Crispino, IRHA is proud to have you as a member of its board.


Drought may have Shaped History

Let us hope that we can reduce the harsh effects of drought through effective promotion RWH techniques & technology. Who knows what might happen otherwise? Ancient sediments from African lakes reveal a major drought occurred at a key time in human evolution. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4505516.stm


Publications

"Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands
Volume 1: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain Into Your Life & Landscape"


Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1, is the core of a complete three-volume guide on how to conceptualize, design & implement sustainable water-harvesting systems for your home, landscape & community. This book enables you to assess your on-site resources (rainwater, topsoil, sun, plants & more), gives you a diverse array of strategies to maximize their potential & empowers you with guiding principles to create an integrated, multi-functional water-harvesting plan specific to your site & needs.

Clearly written with more than 150 illustrations, this volume helps bring your site to life, reduce your cost of living, endow yourself & your community with skills of self-reliance & cooperation, & create living air conditioners of vegetation growing beauty, food, & wildlife habitat. Stories of people who are successfully welcoming rain into their life & landscape will invite you to do the same!

IRHA member Brad Lancaster has been active teaching, designing, & consulting on the sustainable design system of permaculture & integrated RWH systems since 1993. He lives what he teaches on a thriving, award-winning 1/8th-acre urban permaculture site he created with his brother in downtown Tucson, Arizona.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1 ($24.95; 200 pages; paperback; 8.5 x 11 in.; November 2005; ISBN: 0-9772464-0-X) can be ordered from Chelsea Green Publishing Company 800-639-4099. Visit www.HarvestingRainwater.com for more information or e-mail Brad on: brad@harvestingrainwater.com .

More & more people are discovering that we can easily re-hydrate our landscapes & communities by RWH (capturing precipitation & using it as close as possible to where it falls) as they recognize the value of the untapped, & all too often discarded, resource of rain.

The IRHA secretariat very much recommends this book. After a quick scan through it we were already arguing over who would get to read it first.


The Ery Systems of South India - Traditional Water Harvesting

Water has become a scarce resource, both in urban & rural India; therefore RWH has become an urgent necessity both in urban & rural areas. While urban harvesting is done mostly as subsoil storage, rural harvesting is through surface storage bodies. The most important of these surface storage methods are the traditional surface reservoirs, called erys (or tanks), described in this book. They have played a very important role in providing water for all the needs of Indian rural society in regions with relatively low rainfall. They have served Indian society for centuries, if not millennia, & are functional even though today they are in a neglected state.

This book attempts to bring out the greatness & the current relevance of the ery systems of South India. The topics dealt with in this book are: the technology of erys; how ery systems work & their role in the eco-system; the history of ery systems & the scientific knowledge which has gone into their design & construction; management of erys in pre-British South Indian society; decay of ery systems under British rule; community management of erys today & the response of rural communities to the attempts by the State to "modernize" ery systems.

Erys have always existed for the benefit of the people. History has shown that it is the innovation & genius of India's people that has given it these systems & the social & political organization responsible for maintaining them. These extraordinary indigenous systems can once again play their crucial role in the welfare of India's people giving full scope to the innovation & creativity of its people.

Copies of the book priced at Rs. 100 are available from: The Akash Ganga Trust, D-15, Bay View Apartments, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090, Tamil Nadu.
Tel: 044-24918415. E-mail: sekar1479@yahoo.co.in

Akash Ganga Trust is a non-profit, voluntary, service organisation & was formed in January 2002 by a group of like-minded persons from Chennai & abroad to promote, popularise & propagate RWH in the India. It has established the Rain Centre, a one-stop information & assistance centre on RWH, in Chennai city, the first of its kind in the country.


Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) Films & Books

"A fresh look at water": A package of five CSE publications covers the theoretical & practical aspects of water policy, management & implementation in India.

"Making Water Everybody's Business" & "Dying Wisdom" analyse the technologies, traditions & policies of water management. The "Water Harvesters' Manual", "Wastewater Recycling Manual" & "Tanks of South India" give you all you need to practically implement urban water harvesting & wastewater management.

You can order online at: http://csestore.cse.org.in/store1.asp?sec_id=1&subsec_id=20

"The Rain Catcher", CSE's latest film, is a clear & comprehensive resource guide. It answers all your questions about RWH & documents successful case studies ranging from slums to sports stadiums. It covers policy dimensions, products, technologies & maintenance issues across India. Order VCD or DVD from:
http://csestore.cse.org.in/store1.asp?sec_id=4&subsec_id=27



IRHA Membership

For 3 years IRHA has been increasingly acknowledged as a unifying & influential voice in the field of RWH. It has established relationships with many RWH organisations, NGOs, CSOs, UN agencies, international & government agencies, companies & individuals worldwide.

Please go to http://www.irha-h2o.org & click on the link to membership. With your help IRHA will continue to put RWH on the sustainable development agenda; to exchange ideas & experience; to influence policy at the international, national & local levels; to provide a vehicle for creating partnerships & to promote a globally representative approach, allowing regional & other variety.


This newsletter has been sent to over 2,250 individuals & organisations of the IRHA network, plus over 3,500 readers of the International Institute for Sustainable Development water list.


Thank you for the continuing positive comments and feedback on the newsletter.
Please do not hesitate to send us news and articles.
If you would like your newsletter in French next month then just send us an e-mail.

Sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation


Best regards from the IRHA Secretariat staff