: From Floods to Recharging Groundwater, RWA Helps 800 Homes Deal With Water Woes #IndiaNEWS #Chennai When Chennai had just begun to undergo a massive water shortage crisis in the late 1990s, I remember

From Floods to Recharging Groundwater, RWA Helps 800 Homes Deal With Water Woes #IndiaNEWS #Chennai
When Chennai had just begun to undergo a massive water shortage crisis in the late 1990s, I remember about five of us visiting nearby residents to educate them about the importance of conserving rainwater,�? says Sridhar Rao Chaganti (69), a retired resident of Kalakshetra Colony in Besant Nagar, Chennai.
Today, the prudence of his colony’s resident welfare association (RWA) has helped its inhabitants combat the city’s third wettest November in 206 years to a great extent.
“In 2003, the Tamil Nadu government mandated all buildings in the state to include rainwater harvesting structures. However, the policy took into account excess rainwater collected only on the terraces, not in open spaces within a residential area or on the roads beside them. Our colony undertook the initiative to construct rainwater recharge wells in these areas,�? adds Sridhar.
Now, the colony in Besant Nagar has as many as 75 rainwater recharge wells within its premises spread across six major roads – Rukmini Road, MGR Road, Beach Road, Arundale Beach Road, Appar Street and Mahalakshmi Avenue.
While the Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association (KCWA) is credited with financing the construction of 28 of these, the rest were built with the help of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). Excess rainwater percolated in the wells has prevented flooding in streets alongside 800 residential units, of both independent houses and apartment complexes.
“The initiative officially began in 2003 and 11 rainwater recharge wells were set up in the following year,�? Priya Rajshekhar (54), secretary of the KCWA, tells The Better India.
She adds, “Every couple of years, at least 40 per cent of the KCWA’s annual membership fees is used for refurbishing the 75 plus wells. This includes desilting, replacing broken lids and clearance of weeds. This year, we also poured coconut oil into the wells, creating a film over the groundwater that prevents mosquitoes from breeding. �?
The first rainwater wells in the neighbourhood were constructed even earlier, says another resident Shanti Krishnan (66). “Two wells in front of my house were built in 1999 when Sridhar and I were the only members of the KCWA. I remember the GCC used to provide a medicinal spray called Vectobac to prevent mosquito menace,�? the social worker recalls.
“In 2002, a major telecom company knocked out the existing rainwater pit structures in the colony to accommodate their underground cables. I fought tooth and nail and they eventually sponsored the construction of a few rainwater harvesting wells with rings, of which some were boreholes. We had also put a ventilator-type tile to filter the water,�? she adds.

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