These phrases are now being heard in the media regularly: "global warming", "melting of polar ice", "unavailability of drinking water", "drought occurred at a large scale" etc. Worldwide, various organizations and Governments are addressing the intense situations. Droughts essentially weakens the production of various commodities, from vegetables to inks to soft drinks to papers and more. The farmers often suffer the worst alongside the economy and common people. Very recent events include:
1. Drought in the central United States expanded its range as a heatwave dried the last bit of moisture left in the soils and threatening the corn and soybean plants. Iowa of Minnesota, one of the largest grain production regions, is now experiencing a very hot summer, a record in the past 60 years! This drought is expanding towards Kansas & Texas.
2. Namibian drought has hit the country's livestock export badly and this year on two-thirds of the normal livestock export. The agricultural production to decline to by at least 6% as a result of this drought, which is the most intense one in the last 30 years. The authorities roughly predict that it will take around 5 years for the farmers to recoup their losses and this drought may worsen over the course of the next 5 years or so.
3. The increasing harsh climate combined with drought has worsened the scene in Iran. People in the northern provinces of the country are experiencing a hard time in coping up with this as the tea industry, the industry which offers them the most reliable income and job security, is badly suffering from it. Reports from the Iranian Association of Tea Farmers clearly state that the third harvest is stopped due to poverty and drought and the competitive international market is posing a big obstacle.
So, it is very necessary to maintain a positive water balance, both in homes and organizations, to mark a change which would be amplified in the near future as the world's freshwater resource is quickly depleting, global warming doing its part and polar ice melting to engulf the earth's rancour eyesores.
Therefore, a positive water balance should start from the grassroot level to expand into a broader perspective and millions of litres of freshwater can be saved and utilized worldwide over a due course of time. Rainwater harvesting, community water sheds alongside collection of surplus water from agricultural fields are the principal entities in having a positive water balance in a society/region. Also, minimizing the wastage of water in daily life is equally important in the context of this.
Rainwater harvesting can be broadly categorized into surface runoff water harvesting and roof water harvesting. In the roof water harvesting system, the "catchment" or the roof that is intended to receive the rainwater is selected and associated with the system, the other components of the system include a set of drainage pipes, a flushing device, filter, recharge unit and storage unit. Filtration is mainly done by sand-gravel filters, charcoal filters and sponge filters, the latter of which is very suitable for residential units. Percolation tanks are the most effective recharge units and are suitable for a large scale water harvesting system. In the surface runoff water harvesting system, similar procedures are followed but the filtration is more important as surface water is generally more contaminated than roof top water. This system is applicable to agricultural land surplus water, fresh water flooded forests and other places. Implementation of this system is very important as it would lower the risk of creating impervious surfaces, erosion and siltation. Increased runoff worsens groundwater recharge thus making droughts worse. Hortonian overland flow and Hewlettian runoff can also be minimized to a great extent and the collected water would be put into a number of industries, improving the efficiency of the production and promoting a steady water balance. Soil contaminants would not be able to get into various water bodies, thus minimizing the threat posed to aquatic organisms.
So, the initiation of the system is more important. Various NGOs and Governments are promoting rainwater harvesting and positive water balance. It would prevent floods, droughts, save aquatic organisms, help groundwater recharge and production of crops. It is the time for the common people to try this and make the world a better and healthier place in the future for the next generations of us.
1. Drought in the central United States expanded its range as a heatwave dried the last bit of moisture left in the soils and threatening the corn and soybean plants. Iowa of Minnesota, one of the largest grain production regions, is now experiencing a very hot summer, a record in the past 60 years! This drought is expanding towards Kansas & Texas.
2. Namibian drought has hit the country's livestock export badly and this year on two-thirds of the normal livestock export. The agricultural production to decline to by at least 6% as a result of this drought, which is the most intense one in the last 30 years. The authorities roughly predict that it will take around 5 years for the farmers to recoup their losses and this drought may worsen over the course of the next 5 years or so.
3. The increasing harsh climate combined with drought has worsened the scene in Iran. People in the northern provinces of the country are experiencing a hard time in coping up with this as the tea industry, the industry which offers them the most reliable income and job security, is badly suffering from it. Reports from the Iranian Association of Tea Farmers clearly state that the third harvest is stopped due to poverty and drought and the competitive international market is posing a big obstacle.
So, it is very necessary to maintain a positive water balance, both in homes and organizations, to mark a change which would be amplified in the near future as the world's freshwater resource is quickly depleting, global warming doing its part and polar ice melting to engulf the earth's rancour eyesores.
Therefore, a positive water balance should start from the grassroot level to expand into a broader perspective and millions of litres of freshwater can be saved and utilized worldwide over a due course of time. Rainwater harvesting, community water sheds alongside collection of surplus water from agricultural fields are the principal entities in having a positive water balance in a society/region. Also, minimizing the wastage of water in daily life is equally important in the context of this.
Rainwater harvesting can be broadly categorized into surface runoff water harvesting and roof water harvesting. In the roof water harvesting system, the "catchment" or the roof that is intended to receive the rainwater is selected and associated with the system, the other components of the system include a set of drainage pipes, a flushing device, filter, recharge unit and storage unit. Filtration is mainly done by sand-gravel filters, charcoal filters and sponge filters, the latter of which is very suitable for residential units. Percolation tanks are the most effective recharge units and are suitable for a large scale water harvesting system. In the surface runoff water harvesting system, similar procedures are followed but the filtration is more important as surface water is generally more contaminated than roof top water. This system is applicable to agricultural land surplus water, fresh water flooded forests and other places. Implementation of this system is very important as it would lower the risk of creating impervious surfaces, erosion and siltation. Increased runoff worsens groundwater recharge thus making droughts worse. Hortonian overland flow and Hewlettian runoff can also be minimized to a great extent and the collected water would be put into a number of industries, improving the efficiency of the production and promoting a steady water balance. Soil contaminants would not be able to get into various water bodies, thus minimizing the threat posed to aquatic organisms.
So, the initiation of the system is more important. Various NGOs and Governments are promoting rainwater harvesting and positive water balance. It would prevent floods, droughts, save aquatic organisms, help groundwater recharge and production of crops. It is the time for the common people to try this and make the world a better and healthier place in the future for the next generations of us.
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