Publication Date
4-9-2007
Abstract
One hundred twenty-five households in the village of Gandathur (rural Karnataka, India) were examined in a quantitative and qualitative study, assessing the contaminant level of harvested rainwater in relation to the degree of community participation with each catchment system. Data was collected during the summer of 2006 at a site chosen in the southwestern region of India in collaboration with the non-profit organization MYRADA. At the time of data collection, the village had 125 rainwater harvesting structures completed and in use, and 22 under progress. The households with the finished technology were questioned verbally during a community meeting regarding the level, frequency and routine of their operation and maintenance procedure with the harvesting tank, gutter, surface and filtration components. Following the completion of the surveying period, microbial and physicochemical samples were taken of each system. A simple bacteriological test detecting H2S producing bacteria, whose presence is consistently associated with coliform and fecal contamination in water, was utilized on each system. Ten additional samples of 17 physicochemical parameters (pH, turbidity, color, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium hardness, chloride, nitrate, etc.) were sampled from randomly selected households, bore-wells and from the backwaters of the Kabini River to comparatively assess the quality of the various sources of water. The results revealed that 37 out of the 125 rainwater harvesting systems supplied water that was not suitable for human consumption. It is anticipated that the quality of water will directly correlate to the level of operations and maintenance performed by the households. MYRADA has agreed to educate and provide proper training demonstrations to those households that may be instigating the growth of the harmful bacteria.