The Reluctant Raindrop

Some 16 years ago, a serious flood inflicted heavy financial and health losses in Sumida City, one of the most densely populated wards in Tokyo.

Floodwaters inundated many of the ward's buildings with sewage-contaminated water. For weeks people had no drinking water, as the city's drinking water tanks are installed underground. The situation piqued Murase, who was then working in the public health centre of the local municipality, to find ways to utilise rainwater. It is essential to city planning and to mitigate water shortages, control flood and disasters," says Murase. Build numerous mini dams -i-Murase's description of tanks that store rainwater - in cities. This not only reduces the city's water demand and reduces the pressure on water supply but also saves the environment.

Large tracts of farm and forest land that large dams devour are also spared. Moreover, rainwater is free. Its users save money.

The civil servant thinks Tokyo is an ideal situation to reap the benefits of collecting rainwater as it is covered in concrete. Being the ideal for numerous cities around the world in terms of industrial development, Tokyo is now setting an example in the use of common sense in collection and utilisation of rainwater.

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In the meantime, Sumida City has carried on with innovative measures to use harvest rainwater. Rainwater utilisation policies have been promoted with three aims: The ward office can boast of a rainwater utilisation system that covers half of the building's water needs and saves 1. A major achievement has been the installation of the rainwater harvesting facility at Ryogoku Kokugikan, a well-known Sumo wrestling arena in Tokyo. Rainfall on its 8,square metre roof drains into the 1,cubic metre storage tank.

It is used in the stadium's flush toilets and air-conditioning facilities. About 70 per cent of the facilities at Kokugikan use only rainwater. Other areas of Tokyo are following suit. A number of local governments in Tokyo, including those of Okinawa Prefecture, Takamatsu City, Toyota City, Kamakura City and Kawaguchi City have started subsidising and loaning funds for installing rainwater harvesting and utilisation systems. About public facilities in Tokyo have already introduced these. The Tokyo dome, a gigantic multipurpose hall which hosts baseball games and concerts, already uses rainwater.

Capturing of rainwater is also becoming popular with individual households, which are adopting full-scale rainwater utilisation system. Along with water has come fame.

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And as most things Japanese, the fame and the technology has travelled to the US. Even urban planners in New York are showing interest in rainwater harvesting, says Murase. The us-based International Rainwater System Association approached Sumida City to hold a conference on rainwater harvesting. The first conference of its kind, it featured participants and was attended by thousands from across the world. The conference was also the first to focus on rainwater collection and utilisation from an urban perspective, particularly that of the "mega city".

It was organised and supported by citizens and funded through the efforts and enthusiasm of people in Sumida City and its neighbouring areas. After the conference, Murase has gained the attention of a number of citizens and municipalities. More than 85 local governments have formed a network. Citizens' groups are willing to contribute as well. These were used to store drinking water supplied by wagons to communities in Kobe City. The city's water supply system was totally destroyed by the earthquake. Rainwater in government policy In the last week of August , six government ministries and agencies of Japan announced that they will jointly draw up water conservation policies.

These will include restrictions on the use of groundwater and promotion of rainwater use. The policies are to be approved by the cabinet by The administration wants to curb construction of plants in up-stream areas, prevent deforestation and urban development and discourage the use of groundwater during a water shortage. The six government outfits involved are: They will coordinate policy-making to prevent floods and water shortages in urban areas, among other things. The plans will also promote afforestation and the use of rainwater recycling facilities. German municipalities have devised a taxation system to encourage it Situated at the summit of the modern industrialised world, Germany does not lack water.

The country is humid and rainfall is plenty. Perennial streams, rivers and lakes are numerous, and groundwater is accessed with ease. Why should it need to capture rainwater?

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Yet it is doing so. In and , water emergency was declared in parts of the state of Hesse. Groundwater levels in the urban areas of Frankfurt fell so low that plants started dying. Lakes and rivers fell dry. Public water supply in Germany is heavily dependent on groundwater reserves.

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With rivers heavily contaminated by industry and agriculture, groundwater accounts for 72 per cent of the water supply. There is no tradition of rainwater harvesting in Germany. Good quality water is difficult to find. Cost of clean water is spiralling at 11 per cent each year, rising much faster than the average cost of living. Collection and utilisation of rainwater is becoming popular. The average German uses litres of high quality drinking water every day.

Only five litres out of this is for drinking and cooking, the rest being used for bathing, cleaning and flushing of toilets, among other things, where water quality requirement is not so high. Efforts are on to find economical ways to substitute 'drinking water1 with 'use water'.

On the lines of "low-energy houses", there is an increasing need for "low-water houses". There are no negative health effects of rainwater, as in the case of other 'use water'. An example of this is refined river water, which people are understandably reluctant to use for purposes of personal hygiene. A study on rainwater systems for one to four years concluded that in 95 per cent of the cases the bacterial quality was better than the European standard for bath water. Most rainwater, mainly from roofs and paved surfaces, flows into the sewer. This puts additional pressure on the sewage drainage system and sewage treatment plants, which are at the end of the sewage system.

This also adds to the sewage treatment costs. Check out the latest activities in our KidsZone. The Colour of the Sun David Almond. Santa's High-tech Christmas Mike Dumbleton. Queen of Air and Darkness Cassandra Clare. A Life in Illustration Leonard S. Read an Extract Compare Prices. LoveReading View on Once Upon a Raindrop The Story of Water Via simple but elegant illustrations, and a gentle sometimes playful rhyming text, this picture book passes on all sorts of information about water and its importance, while never losing the sense of the beauty of this essential element.

If you loved this, you might like these All versions of this book ISBN: About James Carter James Carter is an award-winning children's poet. More About James Carter. More Books By James Carter.