Tamil Nadu turns to ancient art of rainwater harvesting

DW (English)

In Ramanathapuram, a drought-prone district in southern Indian, an ancient method of collecting rainwater is helping ease the problem. Known as ‘tanka’ water harvesting, the system ensures local communities have access to drinking water.

Transcript

00:00 Searching and collecting water for the household, a task that adds more layers of hardship to

00:06 these women.

00:07 In one of the most water scarce regions in southern India, a simple traditional solution

00:12 is in the works for a complex climate change induced water problem.

00:16 A rainwater collection system called Tanka.

00:18 Basically in those areas it is very close to sea where they used to take ground water

00:26 for drinking water purposes but now with the changing salinity level as well as the sea

00:33 water inclusion more, I mean when they go deeper after 10 feet they used to get the

00:40 saline water.

00:41 So when the salinity level is doubled at some places it is tripled also.

00:47 It is a major concern for the district administration as well.

00:52 Dr. Renga Lakshmi is working alongside local Indian administration and GIZ in an Indo-German

00:59 project called Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Rural India to help make coastal

01:05 villages more climate resilient.

01:08 One of their proposed solutions is the Tanka, a concrete structure to store rainwater in

01:13 villages for use in their households.

01:16 It is a kind of an ensemble.

01:17 So it is a concrete structure.

01:18 It is a ground water tank.

01:19 So they collect the water, store it.

01:22 It is a very simple system but you have to construct in such a way that it doesn't seepage

01:32 and it should be covered well so that the microbial contamination can be avoided.

01:40 It is a kind of round model, an open well type with a broader peripheral area so that

01:46 the water can be stored for a longer time.

01:52 Rainwater is collected when it falls on the sloped catchment area at the top of the tanka

01:58 and stored inside.

02:00 The tanka can hold around 30,000 to 60,000 litres of water.

02:06 It took almost a year to build everything at the cost of around 8.5 lakh Indian rupees.

02:12 Right now two villages we facilitated.

02:15 So in the two villages more than 150 households each, they are getting benefited using this

02:22 water, especially during the four months period where the peak summer is there.

02:30 The task of ensuring drinking water availability at the household or domestic water is mainly

02:36 women's role.

02:37 So considering this gender norm at the local level, women have been looking for water resources

02:43 and they fetch water from the surface water body locally called urani.

02:49 From there they used to take it.

02:51 But now with the changing local village context, the uranis are under degradation.

02:58 Many of the uranis are not maintained properly.

03:01 So women are not getting quality water during that period.

03:05 Most of the women in these coastal villages are agricultural labourers and searching for

03:09 water after a hard day's work is a difficult task for them.

03:13 The tanka is a welcomed relief for them.

03:17 After the construction of the tanka, our situation is a bit better.

03:20 But only if there is rainfall, the tanka gets water or there is no water.

03:25 When there is rainfall, we store water in it fully.

03:28 When there is less water, we take two to three buckets each.

03:31 If the water is more, we take five buckets each.

03:35 It lasts for up to three months, so we don't have to walk long distances to nearby villages

03:40 to fetch water.

03:42 The tanka belongs to the villagers who maintain it and distribute water, thus creating a decentralized

03:48 system for water security.

03:50 It can be scaled up or down based on requirements and researchers believe it is now easier and

03:55 quicker to replicate in other places.

03:59 If rain falls continuously for two days, the tanka can get filled up.

04:04 In summer months, when water is not available in other areas, the villagers use this water.

04:10 All the villagers welcome this initiative.

04:12 After seeing this one, another one was built in the nearby village.

04:17 Even if they build this for us in two more villages, it would be helpful.

04:21 We definitely have a need for it.

04:23 They use different kinds of treatments to take the water, filter it, add more drudgery

04:32 for women.

04:33 So now, using this tanka kind of thing, they are easily fetching the water and without

04:40 spending much time, they are ensuring the household water security.

04:43 about the security.

04:44 (electronic music)

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