Delhi govt to revive rainwater harvesting at its 75 schools: CM Gupta

As part of a water conservation exercise, the Delhi government will revive rainwater harvesting systems at its 75 CM Shri Schools, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Thursday.

“Government’s objective is to strengthen rainwater conservation, improve groundwater recharge, and foster greater awareness about water conservation among students and the wider community,” Gupta said.

As part of the exercise, a comprehensive audit of rainwater harvesting infrastructure has already been conducted in the Delhi government’s 75 CM Shri Schools, she added.

According to officials, a detailed presentation on the project was made before the chief minister.

“The audit found that while most schools already had rainwater harvesting systems in place, many had remained non-functional for years or had not been maintained properly. Several harvesting pits were found completely blocked, while others were filled with plastic waste, silt, debris and garbage,” Gupta said in a statement.

In some cases, school authorities were unaware that such structures even existed on their premises, while design-related deficiencies were also identified in several structures.

The audit also found that rainwater was flowing directly into drains at many locations, defeating the purpose of conservation, Gupta said, adding that the initiative is expected to create an annual rainwater harvesting capacity of nearly 50 crore litres.

Highlighting the importance of rainwater harvesting, she said Delhi receives an average annual rainfall of about 775 mm, and a rooftop area of roughly 2,500 square feet can help conserve nearly 2,00,000 litres of rainwater every year.

“Such a quantity can meet the annual water needs of a family of five. The harvested water can be used for drinking, gardening, cleaning, flushing and several other purposes,” she added.

Gupta said the government will adopt the ‘Ehsaas’ model, approved by the Delhi Jal Board in 2021, and known for its low cost, minimal space requirement and near-zero maintenance.

Under the system, rainwater collected from rooftops will be filtered and connected to storage units and borewells, helping recharge groundwater and even revive dry borewells.

According to the chief minister, technical teams have completed inspections of all 75 schools and submitted their reports.

Under the plan, DJB will carry out several measures, including connecting rainwater pipes to appropriate channels, desilting harvesting pits and replacing filter media.