Dear Goanetters, There is a thing called 'appropriate technology'. Farmers in the interior districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka apply gypsum to their fields. If you apply gypsum in Goa it will spell disaster. Their soils are alkaline,our soils are acidic. Putting roof-top water in the well makes sense in arid and transitional regions where the wells never get full. In the land where we celebrate Sao Joao by jumping in the wells full to the brim,where is the sense in putting the roof-top water in the well ? Very limited benefit may exist if this is done in late September,if the water level in the well goes down. Otherwise it will be like trying to fill an overflowing pot.Futile.
In Bangalore or Pune,which receive about 60 cm. rain spread over 8 months( as against Goa's 250 cm. rain in 3 months) RWH techniques described by Gabe are appropriate. However, the point made about percolation over a period of time is absolutely correct.In Goa ,we should concerntrate on encouraging the percolation of water into the soil using watershed technology i.e. construction of Check-dams,gully plugs, bench terraces,mer bunds,sunken ponds,tillage at the end of monsoons,as well as planting of trees,shrubs and grasses,The World Bank recommends the Govt. of India scheme of NWDPRA( National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas).It is being implemented in Goa by the Directorate of Agriculture in association with the Water Resources Department(erstwhile Irrigation Dept.) and support of the Forest Dept.,Dept.of Science,Technology and environment and NGOs like Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI),Nirmal Vishwa,Goa Krishak Sangh and Goa Watershed Development Society.We need to support this watershed initiative. The individual/family/locality contribution can be as simple as fitting a water pump,cleaning up the disused well and using the water as an alternative to the PWD/Village water supply scheme or at least as a supplement to it.We do just that for our block of 6 flats.There are hundreds of wells that can feed thousands of taps that now use public distribution system beyond its capacity. Do not blame the system,change it for the better! Cheers, Miguel Braganza Horticultural Consultant ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gabe Menezes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "goanet" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Rain everywhere but not a drop to drink anywhere! If it rained only a little but over a longer period, Goa would not have a problem as the rain water would percolate down to where it is need. A neat and communal solution would be to have drain pipes empty all the roof water directly into the wells. This would mean a direct injection of water into the spring system. If every house did this there would be a marked improvement in the water levels the following year - which would get better over the years. > Desalination is a non starter, Gabe Menezes --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.491 / Virus Database: 290 - Release Date: 6/18/2003 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
