How not paying a water bill worked out for this Karnataka scientist

Rain water harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off.

A senior scientist at the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology at Indian Institute of Science, A R Shivkumar hasn't paid his water bill for 22 years. Yes, its true. Shivkumar is not new to this concept.

Shivkumar does not have a Cauvery water connection in his home and he is totally dependent on collected rainwater and thats how he fulfill his family needs.

Analysing rain water harvesting project:

Shivkumar started building his house in 1995. After doing a lot of research work, he decided to analyse the water bills of the residents living in the locality. He found that as mentioned by the World Health Organisation, the amount of water consumption by a family of four should be approximately 500 litres/day. He then tabulated the rainfall data in the city over last 100 years. It showed that the amount of rainfall in the city was more than enough.

How rain water harvesting works:

The tank which is built in his home has been fitted with an innovative filter device called Pop-UP Filter. This pop-up filter has a silver sheet to remove the impurities from the collected rain water.

Rain water harvesting idea also used in other countries:

This idea of rain water harvesting are already being used in several parts of Africa and European counties. The Norwegian government has also selected it for its joint project with the Indian government.

Awards Shivkumar won:

Shivkumar has been honoured with several awards such as the Central government's National Innovation Award, Karnataka government's Ammulya award and Rotary International's Citizen Extraordinary award.

Impact of rain water harvesting:

The Karnataka government has also passed an amendment to the (BWSSB) Act that made rain water harvesting compulsory for houses and offices with an area greater than 2,400 sq. ft. in the core of Bengaluru.

(Photo courtesy: rainmanspeaks.blogspot.in/)

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