Water
India is one of the most water-stressed countries, even though it gets plenty of rain. Our approach: catch the rain where it falls, when it falls, and store it in the soil.
What we have done
- Kupari ZP school, Wada, MaharashtraSix gravel-filled recharge pits costing ₹18,000 made a borewell that ran dry four months a year yield all year round. Students won first prize at the district science exhibition. Done with the Inner Wheel Club of Thane.
- Babre school, Shahpur, MaharashtraRainwater harvesting at a second tribal-area school.
- Vishnupuram, Tamil Nadu30 recharge pits, and a floating solar pump that irrigates 20 acres from the village pond instead of borewells.
- Tambaram Government HospitalRainwater harvesting planned and built at ground level with Rotary.
- Vaippar river, ThoothukudiA detailed project report with HCL Foundation, IIT Madras AquaMAP and PWD for tanks, canals and bunds that could reach about 6,000 acres and 10,000+ farmers and residents.
- AwarenessWorld Water Day meet at Kamakoti Nagar, Pallikaranai, Chennai. G. Ramkumar presented "Catch the Rain, Distributed Rainwater Harvesting, Sponge Soil" at the Global South Academic Conclave on WASH and Climate in February 2026.
Our toolkit: graded gravel pits
Open-ground pit1 m × 1 m × 2 m deep, filled with 100, 40 and 20 mm graded gravel
Storm-drain bore6 to 10 ft deep, 9 inch diameter, set inside existing storm drains
Green-belt pitPits in green belts and waterlogging spots
Harvesting inside storm-water drains lets the soil recharge along the whole drain. Only the overflow leaves, which also cuts flooding.
Under way
- Graded-gravel-pit strategy · five pilot types and a 24-month rollout plan
- Greywater recycling and smart water metering · stage 2 at Vishnupuram
- Rajapalayam · recharge and model-village work to build on the completed Phase 1 reservoir
People
G. RamkumarWater management · Rainwater harvesting
R.R. MohanLivelihood · Women empowerment · Water
Biren VoraWater quality & quantity · Impact at scale
Dinesh MehtaWater · Sustainability · Education · Health
