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Until very recently, rainwater harvesting
was only a selling point for builders and
flat promoters. It was a useful branding
tool, serving as a business pitch for the
to attract customers. It gave an impression
that the builders cared. But following the
Government directive that made it mandatory
for all buildings to harvest rainwater from
the roofs, it has ceased to be just a selling
factor. While this has lead to all major
buildings implementing it, improper rainwater
harvesting facilities can even prove dangerous.
It is mandatory only to harvest rainwater
from the roofs, but ignoring water that
falls in other areas of an apartment means
wasting a majority of the water available.Rainwater
harvesting requires an open well and adequate
recharge facilities. The simplest system
available is to channel water from roofs
to open wells through filter chambers, maybe
after saving enough of it in sumps. If open
wells are not available, complexes should
at least have recharge wells to ensure adequate
ground water. This can be a accessed later
using bore well.
An average family uses about 60 per cent
of the total daily consumption of water
for flushing. Only a percentage of the total
daily consumption is used for drinking and
cooking, which leaves a great amount of
water for recycling.
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