Jamshedpur rainwater harvesting system, India

Coping with a depleting ground water table and water scarcity by establishing a water use policy to harvest rainwater.

Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited facility. Photo by Global Compact Cities Programme

Sustainable towns and cities should establish water use policies in the face of water scarcity, especially as climate projections predict that shortages will become increasingly severe. Jamshedpur is a simple and cost effective example of how this can be done.

Water use policy

JUSCO, a private utilities company that maintains civic amenities in Jamshedpur, has installed rainwater harvesting systems in schools, offices and housing complexes in response to the lack of water in the area. The rainwater harvesting systems collect rainwater run-off from building roofs and pipe it into an underground collection chamber. The water is either used to recharge the water table or is pumped to an overhead tank to supply water for flushing toilets, watering gardens and washing.

The water use policy has increased the amount of water available in Jamshedpur. Local water distribution networks have been installed to provide a piped supply of drinking water to people in the city. More than 13,200 new connections for potable water have been installed since 2005.

The benefits

The quality of the water provided in Jamshedpur is higher than the standards set by the World Health Organisation. This dramatically decreases the number of waterborne diseases and related health issues and shows how environmental improvements are closely linked to health and wellbeing.

The water use policy is so successful that Jamshedpur is the only city from South-East Asia to be selected for the United Nations’ Global Compact cities pilot programme.

Tags: water, cities and towns, neighbourhoods