Handbook on Water Conservation

Handbook on

Water Conservation

A joint project of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) & Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC)

Eco City Project A unique program-based approach for integrating environment friendly concepts for making Navi Mumbai an Eco City of India.

Why and How to Conserve Water?

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Very little water is available for consumption… Water available for consumption (0.3%) Freshwater (3%)

Saline water (97%) http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclehi.html

So let’s value it….

We get water only once in a year during monsoon

8 months are dry

4 months of monsoon


Water is purified through a tedious & energy consuming process to reach our homes Flocculation and Coagulation

Sedimentation

Storage and distribution Filtration


Water we get is HIGHLY subsidized Cost of water in the market

INR 20 / litre

A family of 4 consumes about 540 litres* per day of water So, the commercial worth of this water is

~ INR 10,800 / day But for municipal water we pay only

~ INR 1.6 / day Note: Water consumed per day by family of 4 people (135 LPCD) = ~ 540 litres* Average water bill = INR 600/ year So, average water bill per day= INR 1.60

OR

Just 2 paise/ litre

We get a subsidy of

99.99% So let’s value it….

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/navi-mumbai/NMMC-households-enjoy-water-at-cheaper-rates/articleshow/23239518.cms

Water is our life line 10 litres – Drinking & cooking

10 litres – Washing utensils

55 litres – Bathing

30 litres – Flushing 135 litres per day per person 20 litres – Washing clothes

10 litres – Mopping the floor

So let’s value it…. Source: http://www.cseindia.org/userfiles/01%20WHY%20GREEN.pdf

However, water resources are always taken for granted & wasted.

We waste a lot of water due to leakages 60 drips/ minutes

3600 drips / hour = 0.8 litres / hour

~ 20 litres / day

Now, there is an urgent need to save water….

Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-drip.html

But the truth is….. We still think water scarcity won’t reach us....

………in spite of India being categorized as one of the ‘high water stressed’ countries. Source: www.wri.org/our-work/project/aqueduct

And, the general attitude of people is….

Why should I be concerned?

My city gets rainfall of 2500 mm every year !!

I always get water for 24 hours !!!

Is there any urgency to save water???

However, the present situation is more serious than it appears…. SEVERE WATER CUTS.

Caption of the newspapers (2015-16) say it all……

Citizens respond differently to this situation. Some are responsible and some are NOT.

Miss A is usually not concerned about her water usage.

Miss

Her neighbor – B is very cautious and uses water judiciously.

Washing utensils Miss A washes utensils one by one under the running tap.

Miss B soaks utensils in a soap water tub.

 More Efforts  More Water

 Less Efforts  Less Water

Water used = 60 litres


Miss B saves 30 litres of water as compared to Miss A.

Washing fruits and vegetables Miss A washes vegetables and fruits one by one under the running tap.

Miss B soaks vegetables and fruits in a vessel full of water.






Usage of Stored water Miss A always throws away the stored water. Water wasted = 50 litres

Miss B uses the water she had stored the previous day.

You still don’t believe that Water never gets stale. In urban area, we get processed water through tap and in villages, people fetch water from wells, rivers and ponds.

Washing clothes Miss A washes clothes directly under the tap. Most of the time the tap is left open even when the bucket is full.

Miss B soaks clothes in soap water. She uses water from tub instead of tap water for washing clothes.






Bathing Miss A enjoys tub bath !! Even in water scarcity months.

Water used = ~ 100 litres

Miss B, instructs her daughter to fill up bucket of water for bath. And while taking the shower, she insists to minimize wastage.


Miss B saves 80 litres of water compared to Miss A.

Flushing system Miss A has not bothered to change her old flushing system.

Miss B has installed water efficient flushing system at her home.

Water used: 12 liters/ flush ~190 litres per day

Water used: 6 litres / flush ~ 100 litres per day

Assumption: Family of 4, on an average flushes 16 times per day.

Miss B saves 90 litres of water per day compared to Miss A. Source: www.cseindia.org

Gardening Miss A uses a hose pipe to water the plants.


Miss B uses bucket and mug to water the plants.


Miss B saves 20 litres of water per day as compared to Miss A.

Whenever Miss B goes outstation, she uses innovative drip irrigation methods to water the plants.

Car washing Miss A insists the cleaner to use hose pipe for washing her car.

Miss B advises the cleaner to use wet cloth and mug of water for cleaning her car.



*A running hosepipe uses 9 litres of water per minute

Miss B saves 43 litres of water as compared to Miss A

RO water purifier Miss A let allows the unfiltered water from RO purifier in the drains directly.

Miss B collects this unfiltered water for secondary applications.

Water lost = 2 litres

Water saved = 2 litres

Note: It is essential to drain some amount of water before the filtered water is ready to be collected from the RO water purifier.

Miss B saves 2 litres (100%) of water as compared to Miss A.

One day the city experienced acute water shortage. Miss A was very worried about her daily chores. She was checking the water supply status with her neighbors.

She was wondering how come Miss B is comfortable with her chores, when there is no water supply??

Miss B explained variety of initiatives she undertakes to conserve water. She explains the simple filter pot she has assembled for recycling water.

“This collected water can be easily used for secondary applications. No energy or electricity is needed.” emphasizes Miss B.

Miss B has inculcated a simple habit of putting waste/ left over water into the bucket or filter rather than throwing it away.

Its easy to build your own water filter. Here are some options for you. Gravel

Charcoal Gravel Sand

Coarse Sand Gravel

Nylon filter Blotting paper

Raw Water Fine Sand Coarse Sand Gravel

See, what all goes in the filter pot…..

Water used for washing vegetables & fruits Water regenerated = 3 litres

Water used for boiling eggs Water regenerated = 2 litres

Leftover water from bottles & glasses Water regenerated = 1 litres

Water dripping from the drain pipe of Air Conditioning (AC) units “I have placed a bucket under the drain pipe of AC. Why should I waste even this quantity of good quality water?” When I can put it to good use.

Water regenerated by Miss B = 2 litres

Water drained from washing machine “I make it a point to collect water from 2nd and 3rd rinse of washing machine”.

Water regenerated by Miss B = 100 litres Note: i) Average washing machine has 3 cycles ii) 1 cycle of washing machine drains approximately 50 litres of water.

Source: www.waterwise.org.uk and http://www.nwu.ac.za/faculty-engineering-energy-saving-home-washing-machines

Miss A appreciated Miss B’s efforts.

Miss A was amazed to learn the ways in which Miss B was wisely collecting water. However, she was wondering where this recycled water can be used??

Miss B explained, that she uses this recycled water for the following activities.

1. Mopping “I use water collected in the bucket / filter for mopping” Fresh water saved by Miss B = 10 litres per day

2. Washing terrace and staircase “I wash terrace and occasionally also the staircase of the building with the recycled water.”

Fresh water saved by Miss B = 40 litres

3. Vehicle washing

“I instruct the cleaner to use the recycled water for washing the car using a small bucket full of water and cloth.”

Fresh water saved by Miss B = 2 litres per day

4. Watering the plants in the terrace garden

“I use the water collected in the bucket / filter for watering the plants and lawn.”

Fresh water saved by Miss B = 20 litres

Thus, 72 litres of fresh potable water can be easily saved by replacing it with recovered/ recycled water.

Also, I use washing machine only in full load, not otherwise. “I operate the washing machine only when the load is full. Washing machine consumes 120 -150 litres of water. Why should we waste so much water for few clothes”. Right??

“Excellent Miss B, this is really very much doable.” said Miss A.

Together, let’s value water and use it smartly !!

Miss A, learned the practical ways of recycling water at household level and most importantly this interaction changed her attitude towards water usage.

Like Miss A & Miss B

We have 50+ volunteers as of now to spread this message. Wondering how..??

Under the Eco City Forum…… We have launched a unique multi-stakeholder forum for undertaking outreach activities. Objective is to: • Create a platform for addressing concerns on topics like water conservation, urban farming, green building materials, waste management which is of importance at individual as well as corporate level. • Organize interactive workshops, seminars, hands on training, on site technology demonstrations, panel discussions and so on for sharing experience and best practices. • Disseminate technical information in simple language, implement technologies, assess the impact, and ultimately enable efficient resource management. • Bring together various stakeholders like the industries, residents, NGOs, and government authorities.

Focus Areas of Eco City Forum

1. Energy Conservation 3. Urban Farming

2. Green Buildings 4. Water conservation

Glimpse of the Pilot Exercise

Water conservation

Acute water scarcity in the state:

In response the forum organized “Hands on Training on Water Conservation for Volunteers’’ in Navi Mumbai

Stakeholder Engagement ~ 200 participants at NRI Complex, Navi Mumbai

Workshop on water conservation at NRI complex on 15th December 2015 – attended by more than 80 housekeeping staff and domestic help.

Local Media Coverage of the Workshop The Time of India, Navi Mumbai 10th January, 2016

The Time of India, Navi Mumbai 17th December, 2015

Be a part of this Eco City Forum

Let’s come together to orient people and use resources wisely !! Are you with us?

Handbook Credits Concept and Design Dr. Anjali Parasnis, Associate Director, TERI WRC Core Team Ar. Namrata Kaur Mahal, Associate Fellow, TERI WRC & Programme Associate, GRIHA Council

Mrs. Vrunda Sonawane, Associate Fellow, TERI WRC

Research Team Mrs. Swati Tomar, Associate Fellow, TERI WRC

Mr. Yatish Lele, Research Associate, TERI WRC

Mr Prathmesh Chourey, Associate Fellow, TERI WRC Sketch Artist Mr. Sagar Tandel, For more information contact: Tel: +91- 022- 2758 0021/22 Email: [email protected]