      ePaper Search here 

JUST 8  1hr Ram Madhav accuses

NC, PDP of creating 9  2hrs IPL transfers:
IN
hysteria in Kashmir
Mumbai Indians trade
Markande for Rutherford
10  3hrs Women’s safety in
using cabs: SC asks govt 11  3hrs OBC sub-
categorisation panel gets 12  3hrs G
officer ap
to hear out petitioner extension for 6 more Jaishanka
Hotel Surag Residency
Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 597

Book Now!

CITIES

Resident welfare association from Chennai wins national award Santana Beach Resort
Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 1,824
So a Juliet R. FEBRUARY 28, 2019 16:18 IST
Book Now!
UPDATED: FEBRUARY 28, 2019 16:18 IST

SHARE ARTICLE       0  PRINT A A A

Sea Shell Port Blair
Best Price Guarante
Jains Green Acres in Pallavaram bags the second prize for water management at the national level Starting… ₹ 4,893

T
Book Now!

he residents of Jains Green Acres in Pallavaram are an excited lot: Their resident welfare association (RWA) — Jains Green
Acres Flat Owners’Association — has been declared the second best RWA in the country in the National Water Awards - 2018
instituted by the Union Ministry of Water Resources. The award comes in recognition of the RWA’s efforts in conservation of
water resources.

The award carries a cash prize of ₹1.5 lakh and a citation. Association president R. Chellam and joint secretary R. Vidya Sagar
received the award from the Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Arjun
Ram Meghwal and Secretary U.P. Singh, at a function held in New Delhi on February 25. “The RWA’s efforts in conserving and
harvesting rainwater, borewell management, recycling of waste water, maintaining cleanliness and greenery in our apartment
complex fetched this award for it,” says Vidyasagar.

Here’s how the residents welfare association has won the admiration of the Union Ministry of Water Resources: Hotel Surag Residency
Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 597
A drop saved is a drop gained Book Now!

For a large community with 684 families, the water needs are rather high.
Santana Beach Resort
Best Price Guarante
“We knew that even if we save every drop of rainwater that falls in our 11-acre plot, it would still meet only half of the Starting… ₹ 1,824
community’s needs. It became essential for us to not only harvest rainwater, but also reduce water consumption,” says the Jains
Book Now!
Green Acres Flat Owners’ Association joint secretary R. Vidyasagar. Here’s how they saved water.

It begins at the top

Sea Shell Port Blair
Best Price Guarante
The question of groundwater discharge had not been factored into the original design of the building. The rooftop rainwater was₹ 4,893
Starting…

simply flowing into the stormwater drains. Book Now!

Realising that rooftop rainwater could be effectively harvested at each block, the RWA created hedges around each of the 22
blocks and protected them with kerb stones, and diverted the water from the nearest rooftop to the rainwater lines.

“This measure has allowed for faster percolation of rainwater into the ground. It
has also prevented mosquito breeding as water did not stagnate anywhere. This is a
cost-effective solution: it cost us just ₹1.7 lakh,” says Vidyasagar. This model could
be replicated in big apartment complexes and individual houses where open soil is
available.

The groundwork Hotel Surag Residency

Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 597
In addition, rainwater percolation pits with an aggregate capacity of 125 kilo litres
Book Now!
were created in 2017. The pits are dredged periodically to sustain percolation.

Excess rainwater was also diverted to one of the defunct borewells for direct
recharging. Santana Beach Resort
Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 1,824

Book Now!

Borewells are continually

monitored for their yield and
they are flushed periodically.
Sea Shell Port Blair
Every year, about 20 litresBest
of Price Guarante
water is poured down alongStarting…
the ₹ 4,893
edges of select bores for aboutBook10Now!
days, which is expected to clear
any blocked aquifers.

Measure it, save it

The Association spent ₹62.5 lakh

to install water meters in
individual houses and bills were
 paid based on their consumption,
just like electricity bills. This
single measure alone brought
down the daily water Hotel Surag Residency
Best
consumption of the colony from Price Guarante

427 kilo litres per day to 330Starting…

kilo ₹ 597
Book Now!
litres, which helped the colony
save ₹28.03 lakh a year.

Recycling wastewaterSantana Beach Resort

Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 1,824
Wastewater is an integral part of
Book Now!
water conservation, but is often
ignored, says Vidyasagar.

“Freshwater is not an infinite

Sea Shell Port Blair
Best Price Guarante
resource, which is why it is
Starting… ₹ 4,893
important to include and
Book Now!
implement efficient wastewater
treatment systems in residential
communities,” he says.

The sewage treatment plant (STP) in the colony treats grey water from toilets and kitchens, which is used for gardening purposes.
About 100 kilo litres of water is generated every day from the STP, he says. The plant is regularly monitored for parameters such
as BOD, pH value, TSS, TDS and COD. The sewage collection, equalisation and clarifier tanks are also cleaned regularly.
Save water, save energy

As a result of the water conservation efforts, the RWA was able to bring down the power costs involved in pumping water. The
Hotel Surag Residency
Association installed programmable digital timer switch for the compressor pumps, which resulted in saving about 10 units of Guarante
Best Price
energy per compressor pump without any loss in the water yield. Seven such timers have been installed, says Vidyasagar. Starting… ₹ 597
Book Now!

Support quality journalism - Subscribe to The Hindu Digital

Printable version | Jul 31, 2019 7:25:49 PM | https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/resident-welfare-association-from-Santana Beach Resort

chennai-wins-national-award/article26397328.ece Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 1,824

Book Now!
© THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD.

Sea Shell Port Blair

Best Price Guarante
Starting… ₹ 4,893

Book Now!