Mangaluru : Eminent rainwater harvesting exponent Shree Padre on Saturday said that if Mangaluru wishes not to experience another drought, residents should immediately resort to groundwater recharging through rainwater harvesting.

It is high time that all open wells, not only in Mangaluru, but across the region, are recharged with rainwater thereby bringing up the groundwater level.

One cannot enhance the quantum of rain; but one can definitely improve the groundwater level, which drastically has depleted due to collective fault of all, he said.

“Rainwater harvesting does not cost much. Unfortunately, every household is interested in driving away the rainwater, including the rooftop water, from one’s premises instead of conserving it,” Mr. Padre regretted. It is a myth that rainwater harvesting cannot be done in laterite soil; there are many success stories, Mr. Padre told a concerned gathering assembled to hear, “Come let’s Catch the Rain” at Karnataka Christian Education Society here.

The region receives an average 3,500 mm rain in a year and at that rate, even a five cent land (0.05 acre)—typical residential site area—would get at least 7 lakh litres of water a year. Even if a portion of that water is stopped and diverted for underground recharge, either through a well or other means, one can easily pass the summer.

While some areas in Rajasthan which receive 350 mm rainfall a year are able to have water throughout the year following effective rainwater harvesting, why not an area like Dakshina Kannada that receives 10 times more, Mr. Padre questioned.

Water is the asset of community and even if one does not have a well, one has to resort to groundwater recharge for the common good.

Selling groundwater is a heinous crime, Mr. Padre felt. At the same time, Mr. Padre urged the public as well as civic agencies not to close down madakas (small ponds), which once dotted the entire landscape of the region. Madakas are the natural groundwater recharging agents besides large tanks and lakes.

There are many other methods of holding back rainwater, he said.