Dahisar school saves 5 lakh litre water over 8 years

Dahisar school harvests rainwater, reuses 15,000 litres a day to wash vehicles, water plants and flush toilets

As the city which is reeling under a water crisis eagerly awaits the monsoon, a school at Dahisar has gone the extra mile and saved more than 5 lakh litres of water over eight years.

Universal High School at Dahisar(Jesus Lall)

Since 2008, Universal High School at Dahisar has been harvesting rainwater every year through a simple project that recharges groundwater and reuses it for non-potable purposes, such as in the washroom and garden. Keeping in mind the importance of conserving water, the project was initiated during the school’s inception eight years ago.

“Water is a precious resource and as an educational institution, we need to set an example so that our children learn from it. It is a fundamental responsibility to conserve water,” said Jesus Lall, chairman and chief executive officer, Universal Education Group.

He said that water scarcity is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the city in the coming days. “Water conservation has always been our primary goal. With the chain of schools that we have, judicious use of water has always been our priority,” he said.

Universal Education Group has eight schools, three colleges and four technical institutes across Mumbai, where similar projects have been installed. However, the one at Dahisar, which has 2,500 students, has been the most successful. At the school, two pits have been dug – each of which is 25 feet wide. These pits act as catchment areas. A pipe connects the pits to a tank, which is also connected to a 114-ft-deep borewell that recharges the groundwater.

According to the rainwater harvesting project manager, on a regular day, 15,000 litre of water is used for flushing toilets, washing vehicles and watering more than 50 plants at its garden.

“The rainwater that would have otherwise gone waste is collected and transported into the ground. Submerged underground is a grid of pipes and a submersible pump, which automatically recharges the water. This has helped us provide a long-lasting solution to redress the school’s water woes,” said Ganesh Joshi, faculty and engineer who installed the plant at the school.