Tamilnadu is facing power shortage and water shortage. The following article explains how these two problems can be solved :- HILL TOP RAINWATER HARVESTING AUTHOR : K.S.SUNDAR,EX PROFESSOR IN MECH. ENGG, SASTRA UNIVERSITY, THANJAVUR - TAMILNADU – 613 401 The target of achieving power for all by 2012 appears to be a dream which may not be fulfilled . The 11th plan target of installing 78000 MW of generating facility has fallen short, not only due to paucity of funds but also due to the short time available The demand for power is jumping up at the rate of 12 % per annum and by the end of the 12th plan, we may need about 4 lakh MW of generating capacity. One of the ways of reducing the demand growth is to improve the efficiency of utilization , reduce wastages and stagger the demand by intelligent “time –of-the-day tariffs” to shift the demand to off-peak hours. A major part of the electricity generated is used for water pumping ; both irrigation & domestic. Rain water harvesting improves the underground water storage, raises the water table level & reduces the energy required for pumping. This paper is an attempt to highlight the advantages of HILL TOP RAIN WATER HARVESTING. Hill top lakes and reservoirs are available in many parts of the world, including India. In the USA we have the CRATER LAKE, a naturally formed lake. In Mumbai we have a number of man made lakes and reservoirs on hill tops. These are supplying water to the city. In the temple city of Tirupathy the temple engineers have constructed a number of hill top reservoirs. These have not only reduced the water problems in the temple town of Tirumala but also helped in the growth of greenery in the hills. These hills were otherwise barren in the past. The average water requirement per head per day is 135 litres in urban areas and 70 litres in rural areas. The average depth of water table is 14 meters. In a country of 100 crore people pumping of water alone would need about 10E14 units of electricity for 10 hours of pumping a day. Installing the generating stations for this much energy would call for nearly Rs. 50000 crores. Instead , if we get this water from hill top reservoir by gravity we would be avoiding the huge investment plus the corresponding carbon emission. Carbon emission reduction would fetch carbon credit. Thus there will be a double benefit. These funds could be used for constructing these hill top reservoirs. Alternatively, these reservoirs could be built on BOOT basis, i.e. BUILD, OWN, OPERATE and TRANSFER. Civil construction companies may build these reservoirs and supply water to nearby cities /towns and charge toll for the water. These companies can also generate hydro electric power and supply the electricity, getting revenue for the maintenance. Boating and Tourism around these lakes can attract tourists & fetch foreign exchange. These reservoirs can also be used to store surplus water, when there are floods in nearby rivers. Problems of evaporation, seepage, landslides, leakages in pipe joints and pilferages will have to be addressed, if these projects are to be run profitably. Further, to reduce the power required for lifting water to high rise apartments , it must be made mandatory to provide only loft tank and not overhead tank. Overhead tanks cause an unnecessary drain on the energy resources. ADVANTAGES OF HILL TOP RAINWATER HARVESTING 1) Flood control in times of heavy rains 2) Greater availability of water during summers 3) Soil salinity in coastal areas will get reduced 4) Improved greenery on hill slopes 5) Mini and Micro hydel generation possible 6) Enormous saving in power which otherwise would be spent for lifting underground water. 7) Contamination by drainage water is avoided 8) Contamination by industrial effluents is avoided 9) Water is disinfected due to exposure to sunlight as opposed to ground water. Please mail your comments to sastrasundar@gmail .
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:07:52 +0000
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