RAIN!! RAIN!! GO AWAY!! GO AND COME ANOTHER DAY, LITTLE …
The world's population grew enormously in the 20th century. According to UN estimates, 1.65 billion people lived on Earth in 1900. By 1999 the world's population had passed to 6 billion, and the UN estimates that it will reach 9 billion people by 2050. But the annual supply of renewable fresh water will remain constant. The amount of water available to each person decreases as the population grows, raising the possibility of water shortages and crisis. This leads to higher prices and cost of its supply.
Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain there would be no life|John Updike (1932 - ) US writer (Self-Consciousness: Memoirs)Our world today is presently going through one of its worst economic moments, and I personally think it was due to bad decisions by the “powers” that be, greed, ignoring “very little but important things”, lack of foresight and over a million “financial and economic” factors which I personally don't care about. There is this school of thought who believes that, the world will experience the worst crisis not economically but environmentally specifically “water crisis” which will affect its supply, climate, vegetation etc. There is another school of thought who believes that, water shortages could also lead to international conflict as countries compete for limited water resources. In 1995 Ismail Serageldin, a top official at the World Bank, declared, “The wars of the next century will be over water” (credit; Encarta 2009).Conflicts over water, for example, have sprung up in the volatile Middle East between Jordan and Israel over The Jordan River which forms part of the border between both countries. The issue of water in Ghana can be compared to the situation where “in the mist of plenty, people still thirst”. Ghana is endowed with so many water resources, but unfortunately every day in and out there has been cries, noise and at times agitations on water, its management and utilization both in rural and urban areas.
A quick look at the title of this article, one will think it was a rendition of the old and very popular kindergarten rhythms which we were forced to memorize and recite every morning. Anyway as to whether kids of these days know this rhythm, is another topic for another discussion. I chose this title, to take our minds back to how we tend to forget very little and very important things which we forget but can make very big difference and impact positively on our environment.
Rainfall is one of the very 'important' and 'cheapest' commodities and resources in our tropical region and It is surprising to note that season in and out, we experience heavy rainfall resulting in floods and yet both urban and rural communities still complain of water shortage or no water supply at all. One of the ways through which I think Ministries, Departments and Agencies responsible for water management and utilization can solve the problem of water shortage is to harness Rainwater through harvesting.
The need for rainfall harvesting has been necessitated by the need to use a more community based, flexible, sustainable and inexpensive approach towards water supply. The failure of the other traditional approaches of water supply has been due to mismanagement, high implementation cost, expensive technology, decrease quality of ground and surface water, poor operation and maintenance etc.
Rainfall harvesting, has been with humanity since the beginning of time. Since the earliest days of human history, people have collected rainfall and its runoff. At the same time, they developed laws to guide the use of this precious resource. For instance the code of Hammurabi, a set of laws attributed to an ancient Babylonian king, contains several passages concerning water used for irrigation.
More recently, an innovative rainwater collection system allowed the National Wildflower Research Center near Austin, Texas, in the United States of America to amass up to 450,000 gallons (1,700,000 liters) of water annually.
In Ghana, apart from the long trenches made of aluminum sheets attached to roofing sheets of most buildings and directed to a tank, rain water isn't taken seriously as a major source of water supply. This technology is very popular in the rural communities to collect water.
Every year, the meteorological department records very high rainfall amounts and warns of heavy rains. One wonders why we can't come up with any initiative or program which is comprehensive and sustainable to make good use of this abundant resource but instead only think of how its damaging effect can be curbed.
Rainfall harvesting has proven to be a very effective and cost effective source of water supply in most of our senior high schools. Bishop Herman College in the Volta region is one example of an institution that has made good use of this technology. Underground tanks are scatted around the campus which collects water for use in the kitchen and for student's personal use. The school as at 2002 had only one (1) borehole with hand pump which serves a population of over 1,500. A mechanized borehole was later installed in 2002 though. Water from these underground tanks complement what we got from the other sources.
This technology can be replicated in all second cycle and tertiary institutions, ministries district & agencies (MDAs), communities and other establishments. Rain water if treated can serve these institutions and will save us a lot of water wasted by these institutions and also reduce cost.
Rainfall harvesting is very easy and simple to implement in any establishment be it offices, communities, schools etc. It has also proven to be inexpensive and affordable to the poor. The increased availability of low-cost tanks goes to prove its cost effectiveness. There is also the reduction in water related diseases as water quality is usually better than water from traditional sources like rivers, streams etc. Less time is spent in collecting water (particularly women and children) as it is readily available. Rainwater use also reduces the high demand on the conventional source of water supply like the boreholes (hand pumps or mechanized), rivers, streams etc. The need to chemically treat and deodorize toilet water is eliminated because of the acidic composition of rainwater. Rain water is also very economical, since a lot of savings will be made. Excess rainwater can also be used to water vegetables, other crops and other economic activities.
Due to the flexibility and adaptability of the technology of rainfall harvesting the following can be adopted to harness the potential of rain water and ensure the smooth supply of water;
In as much as this article glorifies rain water and how it can be harnessed to solve Ghana's water supply challenges, it does not in any way negates in totality other approaches and strategies which are presently being implemented to ensure that water is provided to all and sundry in the country. The main objective of this article is to project rainwater harvesting as a more flexible, adaptable, cost effective, economical, sustainable and an alternative approach which will complement existing approaches towards water supply. It is also to let consumers know they have a crucial role to play in water supply instead of always depending on the institutions mandated by government.
So the next time you hear your kids singing the popular “rain rain go away little children want to play”, you should keep in mind how very important it is to your survival as a human being. You should rather be singing “rain rains don't go but if you go, come another day for us to harvest you”.
“The rain begun sprinkling on the dry earth, I wished it could wash away my (our) sin(s) but it (came) on the cold breath of the Southern Ocean there were no forgiveness there” Peter Carey (1943 - ) Australian novelist. He won the 2001 Booker Prize for “True History of the Kelly Gang”
By: Adjomah Xorse Joshua
+233-208-100-044/xorsejoshua@yahoo.co.uk
Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here."