It is a shocking irony that today there is a severe scarcity of water while during rainfall the urban areas are just flooded by the water. A large percentage of people in India does not get safe water to drink and yet during the rainy season the roads in the city areas are jammed by the water. The whole business market, corporate sector and the day-to-day routine of the general population are adversely affected by the heavy rain which clogs the roads of the urban cities and disrupts every day-today life of the people.
What is Urban flooding?
Urban flooding a specific type of condition in which the city or a town is clogged with water as the sewer and water drainage system of the city fails to drain all the incoming water. It is not mandatory that the flood will occur in the city only if a river or lake is located nearby. Heavy rainfalls can easily result in a flood in urban areas when the drainage canals and the sewer system of the city are inefficient to gush the water out of the city roads.
As the urban areas have paved streets, they generally complement the flow speed of the water thus resulting in heavy casualties during the flood. The cities and towns are the soul and heart of any country for economic growth. The flood in these areas not only disrupts the corporate market but also results in huge economic crises for the country and the people living there.
Extreme climate conditions over Mumbai
Urbanization playing the main role, the monsoon in the city is adversely affected. The area receives more heavy rainfalls and suffers from thunderstorms now than the few earlier years. Sea level is rising at an alarming rate and the average temperature of the area has risen approximately by 0.73o Celsius. If the water level kept on rising at the same rate, it will be just a matter of time that approximately 45% of the city area chokes with water.
Causes of Urban flooding
The condition of urban flooding occurs when the water in streets rises at a high rate than it is disposed of from the streets through the drainage system of that city. There are a lot of factors which result in urban flooding. Some of them are:
- Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms: This is one of the main causes of urban flooding. A colossal amount of water accumulates in the city streets due to heavy rainfall. Thunderstorms complement this high escalating condition by causing ravishing high-speed winds which not only cause architectural damage to the city but also increase the flow speed of the water.
- Groundwater flooding: Water collects beneath the surface of ground clogging the pores of the soil. Heavy rain and melting of snow caps generally lead to this condition which then results in urban flooding.
- River overflow: Due to heavy rains and melting of glaciers, the water level rises at an exponential rate in the rivers and lakes which pass through the city or are located near to some urban areas. When the rivers and lakes overflow with water they gush all of it into the urban areas and cities congesting the roads and streets of the city, hindering all the daily activities of the people living in that area.
- Water released from damaged water supply system: Sometimes when the authorities have to work on some repairs in the water mains, they release water. The cities with the inefficient sewer system generally suffer from urban flooding as the water chokes the city area and disrupts all the activities of the people living there.
- Reduced area for infiltration: With modernization and urbanization spreading their roots in every sector, surface area for the water to naturally recharge the groundwater has diminished at a drastic rate.
Rainwater harvesting: An ultimate solution to urban flooding
Urban flooding is one of the most dreadful diseases which can adversely affect a city’s economic growth and daily activities. Due to urbanization, the rate of the flood in the urban areas is increasing at an astronomical rate and with global warming and extreme monsoon conditions, the situation is adversely worsening. Rainwater harvesting not only provides a life-saving solution this hot potato but also helps to accumulate the rainwater which can be used as a renewable source of energy.
There are a lot of techniques in which the rainwater can be stored and used in a constructive way. Some of the techniques are:
- Green roofs: Roofs of the skyscrapers in the urban areas can be revamped and covered with vegetation. Proper filters can be added to the roof system to clean the runoff water for storage. The green roofs not only neutralize the acidic rain caused due to air pollution but also reduces the runoff the stormwater in heavy rains and thunderstorms.
- Isolate the sewer system from rainwater: To prevent the sewer system to clog and choke with rainwater during heavy rainfalls, the authorities need to invest in an isolated rainwater drainage and storage system. This will not only lead to accumulation of rainwater for future use in the benefit of the city but will also complement the already laid out drainage system of the city.
- Rooftop harvesting: Proper water drainage pipes also knows as rooftop pipes can be installed on the roofs of the residential house or a multi-story complex with the addition of percolation well in the ground to store the rainwater falling on the roofs. The main motive of the system is to store the water as soon as it falls on the roof so that the artificial impurities don’t get mixed with the rainwater thus polluting it.
- Driveway harvesting: As the urban cities are filled with multinational companies and huge corporate world beasts, they often have massive driveways in their office complexes. The area is large enough to provide enough surface space to collect rainwater and store it. Proper pipes with adequate filters should be installed in the system to collect the rain water which can be further stored in the wells and tanks installed underground. Proper safety measures should be taken to ensure the purity of the accumulated rainwater for further use.
Water being a scarce resource on the earth needs to be used sustainably and every measure and technique should be undertaken to utilize every source of water in a sustainable manner.
Chaitanya Rain Harvest Products and System: Leading company in RWH systems
Urban areas are suffering from water scarcity, not rain scarcity and we at Chaitanya totally believe that rainwater harvesting is the need of the hour which will not only reduce the highly escalating problem of urban flooding but will also make the rainwater an asset in the growth and development of the city.
Our services include full preparation of the RWH (Rainwater harvesting) system from designing to the engineering layouts. We also offer all ranges of pipes and filters and other necessary things for rainwater harvesting systems under one roof.