Rainwater Harvesting in Devgad-Jamsande (Sindhudurg), Maharashtra, India

In the year 2015, Devgad College launched ‘Double U’ for ‘Water’, a project for rainwater harvesting. It was decided to implement it within one-mile radiusof the College campus.Our entire campus collects rainwater from the roofs and other catchment areas and then it is systematically harvested. We harvest rainwater every year so as to recharge the water table.

In addition, a special team of students led by the faculty of Department of Environmental Science visits each household in the area and creates awareness for rainwater harvesting. The need for rainwater harvesting is explained to villagers by making an audiovisual presentation. One such presentation can be accessed here.

Project Objective: To install basic rainwater harvesting apparatus in a pre-determined set of homes in the Devgad - Jamsande area, based on the principle of water conservation, in order to reduce the problems suffered by locals due to lack of access to clean water during the dry months of the year.

Background
Devgad - Jamsande villages are situated on the Konkan coast of western India in the state of Maharashtra. Lying to the west of the Sahyadri range in the Western Ghats, the topography comprises sedimentary rock and red soil. Due to a dominance of rock over soil in the region, surface run-off of rainwater is tremendous during the wet months of monsoon, i.e. between June and August.

Wells had hitherto been the primary source of potable water in the region, with every household digging their own bore-well for supply of water. As the population of the Taluka increased over the past decade, however, the availability of water reduced,as did thelevel of the water table. This in turn led to people boring deeper and deeper into the earth for water, resulting in further lowering of the water table. The sum total of these developments is that most households suffer water shortage for 3 to 6 months of the year, thus, having to depend on water tankers.

Even though several government schemes have been initiated, at an estimated exposure of INR 3.1 Bn (Rs. 31 Cr) to the government exchequer, between 1997 to 2014 alone,the situation has not improved much.

The irony of the matter is that the Konkan region receives some of the highest levels of rainfall in the country. Yet, its people face water trouble for more than half of the year. Simple methods and mechanisms such as rainwater harvesting can help to resolve this problem to a great extent. It is with this rationale that we have initiated this project.
The project will also serve the object of giving practical experience to the students of the Environmental Studies faculty at Devgad College in respect of water conservation and ecology as well as survey techniques and interview methods. The college, which attracts students from over 80 villages in the region, is in a unique position to impart rainwater-harvesting techniques to students, who will gain sufficient skills and experience to implement such mechanisms in their native villages too.