Olava foundation says the system will not merely serve as a water facility but also as a live demonstration for students on conserving every drop of rain
On Oct 2, NGO Olava Foundation completed a rainwater conservation and storage project at the Zilla Parishad school in Junewani, Nagpur district Olava foundation says the system will not merely serve as a water facility but also as a live demonstration for students on conserving every drop of rain On Oct 2, NGO Olava Foundation completed a rainwater conservation and storage project at the Zilla Parishad school in Junewani, Nagpur district Olava foundation says the system will not merely serve as a water facility but also as a live demonstration for students on conserving every drop of rain Nagpur: With several parts of Maharashtra reeling under drought conditions and water security emerging as a growing concern, the answer may not always lie in searching for new sources. On Oct 2, it completed a rainwater conservation and storage project at the Zilla Parishad school in Junewani, Nagpur district, with CSR support and coordination with the GST department.
The foundation says the system will not merely serve as a water facility but also as a live demonstration for students on conserving every drop of rain. “For students, the system is intended to become a live lesson in water conservation rather than just another school facility,” foundation founder and water conservationist Prof Arvind Kadbe told TOI. “Around 2001, villagers had to walk 1.5-2km to fetch water even though the village was located alongside the Upper Wardha project, one of the region’s major reservoirs,” Kadbe, a retired school principal, said.
Sometimes, it begins with capturing the rain that already falls. For nearly four decades, Olava Foundation, an NGO working for rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, has been pursuing precisely this approach — slowing down runoff, allowing rainwater to seep into the soil and strengthening local water resources. The foundation, which undertakes its water-conservation interventions free of cost, has now taken the message to a classroom. The project is designed to collect rooftop rainwater, filter it and divert it for storage or groundwater recharge. Perhaps, the most compelling example of the foundation’s philosophy comes from Pardi village in Morshi taluka of Amravati district.
Following water-conservation and groundwater-recharge interventions, Pardi became tanker-free in 2002-03, according to the foundation. The organisation says training programmes for Jalduts, water volunteers and water workers have facilitated more than 5,000 projects. More than 2,000 lectures have also been conducted in schools, colleges and among farmers across India.
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“The problem was absence of water where people needed it,” Kadbe said. “In Amravati division, around 500 people were trained through three-day programmes on assessing local water conditions, harvesting rainwater and converting runoff into a groundwater resource,” said foundation vice-president Uday Dighe. The objective is to create water ambassadors who can take the message from the school to their homes and communities, said NGO volunteers Prabhakar Walke, Kirti Bokare and Mandar Nazar.
The paradox was stark — a major reservoir was next door, yet water was not readily available to villagers. The experience became an example of how improving local water retention and groundwater recharge can make a village less dependent on external water supplies. The foundation subsequently worked in Jiwti Pahad in Chandrapur, where villagers had to travel nearly a kilometre downhill to fetch water. Similar interventions were undertaken in Akola, Khamgaon, Shegaon, Nandura and Malkapur, besides Melghat, Latur, Jalgaon and Aurangabad. Depending on the terrain, the projects involved rooftop rainwater harvesting, trenches, pits and recharge structures designed to intercept runoff and replenish groundwater. For Olava Foundation, rainwater harvesting is not merely about constructing pits, tanks or recharge structures. It believes that local communities must understand where their water comes from, where it goes and how it can be retained. The Junewani project follows the same philosophy. Students are being exposed to how rooftop rainwater can be collected, filtered, stored and used for activities such as gardening and sanitation, while also learning why groundwater recharge is important. THE CORE PHILOSOPHY The foundation is of the view that simply drilling more borewells or building larger water-supply projects cannot provide a lasting solution. Rainwater has to be retained where it falls, groundwater extraction has to be balanced with recharge, and wastewater needs to be treated and reused. Soil itself is an important part of the solution. Organic matter, biological activity and better soil structure improve infiltration, allowing rainwater to move underground instead of becoming destructive surface runoff. Groundwater recharged during the monsoon can subsequently support wells, springs, streams and river flows beyond the rainy season. If Pardi’s example shows that a village does not always have to look for another source of water, the Junewani school is turning that lesson into a practical classroom. EVEN ROADS CAN BE WATER SOURCES One of the foundation’s distinctive experiments involved harvesting rainwater flowing along roads. In Amravati, it demonstrated how road runoff could be diverted towards groundwater recharge rather than being allowed to disappear into drains. Kadbe describes it as an early road-based rainwater harvesting experiment in the country. The idea has particular relevance for rapidly urbanising cities such as Nagpur. Roads, rooftops and other paved surfaces generate huge volumes of runoff during intense showers. Much of this water quickly enters stormwater drains and leaves the area instead of entering the ground. Capturing even a fraction of that runoff can reduce wastage while helping replenish groundwater. Download the TOI App.