No tankers since 1996: how a Vizag colony made rainwater harvesting mandatory and kept its wells wet
Residents of Jagannadha Raju Nagar in Visakhapatnam have successfully avoided water shortages by mandating rainwater harvesting pits for all buildings since 2010. The community's proactive conservation efforts have kept groundwater levels stable despite poor rainfall.
Why it matters
This serves as a successful case study for urban water sustainability and community-led environmental management.
At a time when several apartment complexes and residential localities in the city are struggling with declining groundwater levels and water shortages, Jagannadha Raju Nagar (JR Nagar), near Old Venkojipalem, has emerged as an example of how sustained rainwater harvesting can secure a community’s water needs.
Residents of the colony say that although groundwater levels have fallen to some extent because of poor rainfall this year, they have not faced a water crisis or had to depend on private water tankers . They attribute this to a long-term decision by the colony members to make rainwater harvesting (RWH) pits mandatory for every new building.
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