Savitha Suresh Babu / The Hindu

Mangalore, Jul 3: There has been much debate on the need for rainwater harvesting in Dakshina Kannada district as the region is a heavy rainfall area. Acute shortage of water in summer months, has, however made it a necessity.

Shri Padre, an expert on rainwater harvesting, said that those who say rainwater cannot be harvested in Mangalore have not understood the concept completely.

There are various methods of harvesting rainwater, and it can be done to suit local needs. Several farmers in the region had developed their own methods to harvest rainwater, he said. In urban areas, roof water harvesting is the most convenient option.

The methods of storage vary. Roof water harvesting has been taken up at the Deputy Commissioner's office in the city. The project has been executed by Nirmiti Kendra, Suratkal, which is also setting up similar projects in government schools under the Suvarnajala scheme. Rainwater from a part of the roof was collected, and it was sufficient to meet the drinking water requirements at the office, said former Deputy Commissioner H V Parshwanath, who initiated the project.

Nearly 10,000 litres of water is stored in the two tanks at the office. Different filters — pop-up filter and sand bed filter — are used in the two tanks.

The pop-up filter is a manufactured device available in the market. The sand bed filter is made of an aluminum bowl covered with a mesh. Over the mesh, is a layer of charcoal, followed by sand and jelly.

The filters remove impurities from the collected rainwater, to make it fit for consumption. Excess water is pumped into the sump. Among other government buildings, the zilla panchayat had taken the lead by setting up rainwater harvesting in 31 buildings last year.

This year, the zilla panchayat is planning to take up rainwater harvesting projects in two agriculture department buildings at Beltangady, said zilla panchayat executive engineer Narasimha Raju.