The recent Chennai floods threw up a lot of questions. Biggest of them was, why the drainage system of Indian cities is still in the bygone era. A decade ago, Mumbai saw the highest ever recorded rainfall and in a single day Mumbai turned into a gigantic lake. Of course, the rains were beyond our capacity to handle and floods were inevitable, but surely the damage would have been much less, had the severely plastic clogged drainage system been functioning better.
The next big question posed was, why nothing is being done for flood water management in a country which sees droughts in many places. Well, this is completely our fault; nature cannot be blamed. Flood water stays stagnant and in a while, becomes breeding ground for numerous viruses and bacteria, which lead to epidemic et.al. Not to mention, the damage floods do on our roads, crops etc. Why can’t we reuse flood water?
I was having a chat with my wife on water logging, when we witnessed scenes in Pune after a night of heavy rainfall. My wife, who was born in Goa and has spent all her childhood there, talked very highly of the drainage system in Goa, which is able to handle rains much heavier than what Pune can imagine. She said the Portuguese should be given their due, since they ensured great infrastructure for managing waste water till their rule ended in 1961. Why can’t other cities follow the model of Goa?
Talking of flood water management, I was constantly thinking of how we can reuse water. I googled a bit and found a very interesting idea by someone from America. She said there should be water towers installed at places which are prone to floods. Diesel operated pumps should be used to send water up to the towers, once flooding starts. She further said that the cost of such towers and pumps far outweigh the cost of lives and property lost. Well I believe, this is a good and feasible idea and can be implemented at least in the metro and tier 1 cities of India.
I also read about air tankers. Air tankers are aero-planes that can transport huge quantities of water. I saw videos of how these planes landed on lakes and floated on them for a minute and in the process pumped water into their tanks. Then they flew away to their targets which were either wild fires or other locations where aerial fire extinguishers were needed. Although this alternative is much costlier than the water tower approach, this is certainly useful in severe cases. What I am thinking of is, having many such smaller planes land on flooded areas, take in water and fly off to drought affected places. Watering those barren lands from above can be an easier option compared to cloud seeding.
Due to the quickly warming planet, the ice at the poles is melting fast. Seas are rising and already a few tiny islands of the world have submerged. Rapid industrialization and deforestation are adding to the woes. Also, it's a pity that trees are being taken for granted. It is universally known that trees not only help in controlling pollution but also in holding ground water together and prevent floods. Water management has to become our top priority else we will reach a phase where that old line will hold true – WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, NOT A SINGLE DROP TO DRINK.
Below is a video that shows the aftermath of Chennai floods.
The next big question posed was, why nothing is being done for flood water management in a country which sees droughts in many places. Well, this is completely our fault; nature cannot be blamed. Flood water stays stagnant and in a while, becomes breeding ground for numerous viruses and bacteria, which lead to epidemic et.al. Not to mention, the damage floods do on our roads, crops etc. Why can’t we reuse flood water?
I was having a chat with my wife on water logging, when we witnessed scenes in Pune after a night of heavy rainfall. My wife, who was born in Goa and has spent all her childhood there, talked very highly of the drainage system in Goa, which is able to handle rains much heavier than what Pune can imagine. She said the Portuguese should be given their due, since they ensured great infrastructure for managing waste water till their rule ended in 1961. Why can’t other cities follow the model of Goa?
Talking of flood water management, I was constantly thinking of how we can reuse water. I googled a bit and found a very interesting idea by someone from America. She said there should be water towers installed at places which are prone to floods. Diesel operated pumps should be used to send water up to the towers, once flooding starts. She further said that the cost of such towers and pumps far outweigh the cost of lives and property lost. Well I believe, this is a good and feasible idea and can be implemented at least in the metro and tier 1 cities of India.
I also read about air tankers. Air tankers are aero-planes that can transport huge quantities of water. I saw videos of how these planes landed on lakes and floated on them for a minute and in the process pumped water into their tanks. Then they flew away to their targets which were either wild fires or other locations where aerial fire extinguishers were needed. Although this alternative is much costlier than the water tower approach, this is certainly useful in severe cases. What I am thinking of is, having many such smaller planes land on flooded areas, take in water and fly off to drought affected places. Watering those barren lands from above can be an easier option compared to cloud seeding.
Due to the quickly warming planet, the ice at the poles is melting fast. Seas are rising and already a few tiny islands of the world have submerged. Rapid industrialization and deforestation are adding to the woes. Also, it's a pity that trees are being taken for granted. It is universally known that trees not only help in controlling pollution but also in holding ground water together and prevent floods. Water management has to become our top priority else we will reach a phase where that old line will hold true – WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, NOT A SINGLE DROP TO DRINK.
Below is a video that shows the aftermath of Chennai floods.
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