The objective of this project is to serve a local population of over 700,000 with clean drinking water by capturing rainfall in the State of Kerala in India. This project branched out from a study on water quality and management conducted in the Kuttanad region two summers ago. At present, more than 80% of the people in Kuttanad rely on contaminated canal water for their daily water requirements. No other alternatives are available: pipe water is also contaminated and infrequent, and well water is acidic due to soil leaching. The abundant rainfall in the region has been identified as the cleanest and most reliable source of water. However, due to a lack of proper harvesting structures, impoverished communities are relying on contaminated water sources. This project aspires to reengineer the rainwater harvesting structures to make them more durable and affordable. In addition, training programs will be set up to enable women to be the entrepreneurs of such rainwater harvesting structures. If successful, this project will 1) improve the community's health, 2) increase the households' dispensable income, and 3) lessen the burden on women and children who walk long distances to collect water daily.

Context

The State of Kerala has the second highest population density among all states in India. Kuttanad is a region located in the coastal low-land of Kerala. It is the lowest region of India, with 500 km2 of the region below 2.5m of mean sea level. Despite the progress in human development, Kerala is facing an increasing potable water scarcity due to pollution. Households which cannot afford to purchase water from private vendors are forced to rely on the polluted canal water. At present, more than 80% of the Kuttanad population is using canal water for daily water requirements. The canal water is highly contaminated with fecal matter and agricultural run-off. There are over 3,000 E.Coli bacteria per 100 ml of water, while the WHO drinking water guideline is 0 E.Coli per 100 ml of water. Meanwhile, water supply from public taps is very irregular and unreliable. The public taps only supply water twice per week, and it is often for only an hour late in the evening. When water is being released into the pipes, officials at the Kuttanad Water Supply Scheme will call and inform the village leaders. The village leaders will then pass the message to various households. Families then rush towards the taps and fill their pots until the taps run dry again. As women and children are responsible for collecting sufficient water for household consumption, the insecure water provision imposes a disproportionately large social and health burden on them. Due to poor road conditions, women have reported spending up to several hours every day walking long distances to fetch water for their households. In addition, the public water supply network has limited coverage due to the harsh conditions of laying pipes across wetlands. Coupled with the first problem of infrequent water supply, women and children in the poorest households located in inaccessible regions suffer the most.

Motivation

At present, the major constraints of rainwater harvesting in Kuttanad are the lack of financial capital to build the structures and the unstable and water logged soil condition, which poses risks of structural damage to the harvesting structures. Prototypes will be designed and built in Brown and subsequently in the field to test the durability of various rainwater harvesting structures.

Outcomes & Impacts

To ensure sustainability, the rainwater harvesting systems installed must be durable, cost-effective and de-centralized. In addition, a training program will be set up to train women self help group members to build and maintain these structures. The skills they learn will enable them to be the entrepreneurs of such structures in the long run. The direct impacts will be an increase in household dispensable income, time and energy saved from collecting water, and reduction of epidemic outbreaks and associated medical costs. A successful community rainwater project will also lead to a broad range of community benefits. These benefits include the development of new skills and capacity among community members in areas such as project planning, implementation, management, co-operation and maintenance. Rainwater for Humanity is an entry point to create a sense of self-reliance and environmental health awareness in the community. The ultimate goal of this project is to transfer knowledge and empower the local community with skills to enhance their living standards.