For Rural Sri Lanka, Ancient Technology Eases Water Woes

8/12/2019 For Rural Sri Lanka, Ancient Technology Eases Water Woes

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For Rural Sri Lanka, Ancient TechnologyEases Water Woes

A family stands in front of their rainwater harvesting tank.Rehana Cuttilan

By Passanna Gunasekera-anuary/February 2014

Where only 15 percent of rural communities have piped-water, rooftop rainwater

harvesting is giving drought-prone villages a new lease on life.It is not for nothing that people from rural, drought-prone villages in Sri Lankas

northern Vavuniya district, a former war zone, say that water is more precious than

gold. Less than 5 percent of the districts residents have running water in their homes.

For the rest, fetching water from the closest wells or reservoirs is a back-breaking daily

endeavor.

According to my religion, its a sin to refuse when someone asks for water. We had no

choice but to do so each time neighbors as well as students and staff from the nearby

village school came asking for water. Every drop was so precious, said Sarifa

Fathima, 56, a mother of four and grandmother of three.

Fathima and her husband made multiple trips a day by foot, or on bicycle, to a

common well one to two miles away. We carried heavy loads of water and that

seemed all we did each day, she said.
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Thanks to USAID and LRWHF, this rural school has good quality water

Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum

For Fathimas neighbor, 23-year-old Safra Siddiq, the burden of this eternal battle for

water fell on her as the eldest daughter in a family of four, particularly after losing her

mother years earlier. Before and after work, she and her younger sister joined othervillage women on their daily 30-minute journey to fetch water. They carried heavy pots

of water back home whether sunrise, dusk, heavy rain or scorching sun.

For another resident of the village, Abdulla Haleem, 70, watching his daughtera

single mother of threemake endless trips to fetch water was distressing. My wife

and I both suffer from heart ailments so we could not help her in any way, but only

pray for a speedy solution, said Haleem.

Although Sri Lanka receives on average 70 inches of rainfall annually, levels are

inconsistent. Villages such as those of Fathima, Siddiq and Haleem in the Vavuniya

region report low rainfall totals even during monsoons. During the long, dry months

roughly from May to Septemberwhen wells went dry, buying private water bowsers,

or tankers, or travelling long distances for it were the villagers only options.

Vavuniya is also known for pesticide-, fertilizer- and fluoride-contaminated

groundwater. As the villagers were uncertain of the water quality and did not like the

taste, they spent their hard-earned incomes buying bowsered or bottled water for

drinking.


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A!dulla Halee"#s wi$e and granddaughter in $ront o$ their rainwater syste"

Passanna Gunasekera

Many families in the Vavuniya district were displaced multiple times during the

countrys 26-year civil conflict that ended in 2009. Some have only recently resettled

and restarted their lives. But in a country where less than 15 percent of the ruralpopulation is served by pipe-borne water, this frequent water scarcity is an extra

burden to bear.

We know villagers who died of, or are suffering from, kidney disease after consuming

well water. Our family also suffered from infections after consuming well water, and we

spent a lot of money on hospital visits and medicine, said Fathima.

Siddiq works in the village health clinic and has seen the high levels of kidney disease.

My family watched helplessly as my own aunt died of kidney disease, she adds.

In 2012, USAID awarded a $483,000 grant to Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum

(LRWHF)a local organization that revives the ancient technology of using rainwater

for household and community use. Under the grant, LRWHF trained masons to build

750 rainwater harvesting tanks in households and larger units in selected hospitals

and schools.

The 8,000-liter tanks were built in households for as low as $500 and were provided

free of charge. Our contribution was the material, such as wooden planks, meals and

extra labor for the masons during the construction phase, said Fathima.

The tanks collect rainwater from a familys roof and divert it into a tank on their own

land. After first going through a flush device to take out dust and debris, the water is

sent through a filter consisting of pebble, charcoal and mesh. Finally, safe drinking

water is accessed through a tap connected to the base of the tank.

The initiative also trained families to maintain and clean the tanks, which come with a

15-year guarantee.

Rainwater har%esting "odel at a &u!lic awareness e%ent

Rehana Cuttilan

The rainwater we collect is adequate for us to cook and drink for over two months


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during droughts, says Fathima, one of 750 people who benefited from the new source

of clean water.

If the families finished using their stored rainwater during extended dry seasons, they

used the harvesting tank to store water from the bowsers they purchased. Before the

installation of the tanks, families had to share a bowser and store the water in plastic

containers.

Reviving an Ancient Practice

The project mimicked a technology introduced by Sri Lankas ancient kings, dating

back to the 5th century. Rising and falling in popularity over the centuries, the

technology has been making a comeback over the past decades due to groups like

LRWHF.

The initiative educated people on the benefits of rainwater harvesting through public

exhibitions and community training programs. It worked with local officials, advocating

for better government policies on water access and rainwater harvesting.

The initiative also addressed livelihood, food security and sanitation needs, while

contributing to climate change adaptation. For example, most of the villagers now

have safe drinking water on their own premises, with extra to irrigate and produce lush

home gardens.Along with the rainwater harvesting systems, the families also received vegetable

seeds and plants. Fathima is very proud of her home garden, where she grows

eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and papayas. After feeding her family, she shares any

extra crops with her neighbors. And so do her neighbors.

As a result, the villagers also get to consume a varied abundance of fruits and

vegetables for free, said Fathima.

USAID also trained LRWHF staff on Geographic Information Systems and provided

the necessary equipment and software to map the locations of past rainwater

harvesting systems as well as locations with future potential.

Decades of conflict and economic deprivation left a legacy of hardship in Sri Lankas

northern and eastern districts. The district residents are now rebuilding.

We have seen the sea change initiatives such as this have brought and how they


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have dramatically improved the lives of hundreds of

villagers, said Trevor Hublin, director of USAID/Sri Lankas

Office of Governance and Vulnerable Populations.

Following this successful grant, USAID is now partnering

with LRWHF and the U.S. Pacific Command on a pilot

project to expand rainwater harvesting in Sri Lankas

drought-prone districts.

According to climate change prediction studies, Sri Lankas

dry areas will be drier, and a larger percentage of the rainfall

in the dry zone will escape to the sea as runoff, causing

severe water scarcity in dry areas, said Hublin.

USAID aims to reach thousands more villagers with

rainwater harvesting as a safe and clean alternative option

for surface and groundwater resources, helping the country

achieve its target of providing drinking water to all citizens

by 2025.

For Fathima, Siddiq and Haleem, the initiative has done

much more than provide them safe drinking water. It has

given their families a whole new lease on life.

Now that they are relieved from their water fetching

burden, Fathima and her husband have time to work in their

home garden, although in a small way, we are even

considering moving from subsistence to commercial

agriculture, they say in unison.

Siddiq has more time to devote to her studies now that sheno longer makes the journey to fetch water.

As for Haleem, he has peace of mind with the rainwater

harvesting system next to his house providing the family

with water year-round.

Posted by Thavam
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For Rural Sri Lanka, Ancient Technology Eases Water Woes

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