“Is rainwater safe for drinking? Lessons learned and best practices on water quality testing of rainwater”

 The 2^nd SARNET conference inspires water sector professionals from South Asia to action

 

The potential of rainwater harvesting has been brought to the fore in many South Asian countries. For example, in Maharashtra India Raah Foundation a member of the South Asia Rainwater Network (SARNET), and many others in the region have started sharing and exchanging knowledge on rainwater harvesting and are exploring the possibilities of forming a country-level collective to promote the adoption of the technology. As reported by Dr Sarika Kulkarni CEO and Founder of Raah Foundation India who attended the 2^nd international conference of the South Asia Rainwater Network (SARNET). Nepal too has started the process of forming a national-level alliance on rainwater harvesting. A member of SARNET from NEWAH in Nepal Resham Jung Singh has recognized the need to share knowledge with other like-minded development partners and is about to initiate the construction of a rainwater harvesting tank in the office and models of various rainwater harvesting technologies at the organization’s premises.  In Bangladesh too CEO of O Creeds Shahadat Hossain a member of SARNET stated that a pumpkin-shaped rainwater harvesting tank (designed in Sri Lanka) will be constructed at a tourist resort in the Sri Mangal area in Bangladesh. Both Shahadat and Resham attended the training program organized on rainwater harvesting storage systems held as part of the 2^nd SARNET conference in Sri Lanka.

 

 “A Sustainable Solution for Climate Change Resilience and Achieving SDGs”, the 2-day international conference of SARNET concluded on the 18th, of May 2023, at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This event was organized by SARNET in collaboration with the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum (LRWHF) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) with the support of USAID.

 

Many water sector professionals, development practitioners, entrepreneurs’ researchers, and academics from South Asia, Africa, and the Netherlands joined to share experiences and knowledge at the series of events organized along with the SARNET 2^nd international conference in Sri Lanka. The aim of these programs was to increase the knowledge and skills to promote rainwater harvesting technology, amplify the importance of rainwater harvesting technology as a means of achieving SDG 6, and lobby for increased investments in rainwater harvesting.

 

The program started off with the technician training program on rainwater harvesting and storage systems. Participants from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran, Malawi, Nepal, and Sri Lanka joined the 04-day program. 

 

The training was delivered using both classroom-based lectures on the theoretical aspects of rainwater harvesting and on-site construction of pumpkin-shaped tanks and Calabash cisterns for storage of rainwater harvesting in Mahiyanganaya in Sri Lanka.  Competent masons from Sri Lanka and from Uganda were kept busy in completing the construction of a Pumpkin shaped and a Calabash Cistern. The participants received hand on experience in the construction of pumpkin-shaped tanks and Calabash cisterns for storage of rainwater harvesting and followed by a field visit to rainwater harvesting beneficiary sites in schools and households. The participants of this program were given an opportunity to share their experiences of the training program at the 2^nd international conference of SARNET.

 

The international conference spanned over 2 days. The guest speech of Pond man of India Ramveer Tanwar a living legend who is committed to restoring water bodies and the keynote speech of Mathew MacCartney   Research Group Leader for Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Ecosystems from IWMI kept the audience spellbound with their insights at the inauguration. Mr. A.C.M. Nafeel, the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Water Supply and State Infrastructure Development, and Mr. Kevin Dean, Director of the Office of Governance and Vulnerable Population at USAID Sri Lanka also address the occasion with their thoughts.

 

Research findings, innovations, best practices, and success stories of 24 presenters from South Asia, Africa and Iran were featured under 3 technical sessions at the conference. The experiences of using rainwater harvesting to provide water demands were featured in technical session 01 “Rainwater Harvesting as a Means of Achieving Safe Water and Sanitation at the Household Level.” Experiences and the feasibility of adopting rainwater harvesting were presented by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India were featured in the session. Experiences from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka for meeting the water demand for water for industries, improving and maintaining the aesthetic appearance of gardens, flood control mechanisms, and groundwater recharging were discussed in technical session two. Addressing water scarcity caused due to climate change, lack of safe water available for victims of a disaster, meeting the demands for water for communities in mountainous regions, poverty tied to water availability in regions and the dry zone in Sri Lanka, ground water recharging for saline ingression were among some of the experiences shared during the final technical session 03 on the second day of the event. The interactive discussion provided in the panel discussion provided an opportunity for in-depth conversations on rainwater harvesting and its potential for addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development goals.

 

Following the conference, the participants joined for an exposure visit to the ancient rainwater harvesting sites, and water management systems and to meet the current users. The 3-day tour included visits to ancient water management systems that harnessed the potential of rainwater in Anuradhapura including a visit to Wewa (tanks), ponds such as Kuttam pokuna, 5^th Century BC ingenious garden, and water systems Sigiriya.  A meeting with school children and teachers from a school in Horuwila in Nochchiyagama who are using a rainwater harvesting system was included in the tour.  The tour concluded with a stay in Kandy at the China Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Centre in Peradeniya followed by a discussion on rainwater as safe drinking water, and drinking water status globally and in South and East Asia.  

 

SARNET at present has over 160 members from 16 countries across the world from South Asia, Africa, Latin America, East Asia, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Australia. The members are water sector professionals, activists, researchers, academics, students, and enthusiasts.