Indian Plumbing Association

aerators

drain

drought crisis

I Save Water

Pune airport

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The’s (IPA’s) water-saving initiative with the help ofhave helped to save five crore litres from going down thein the city. Inspired by the success the 21 other chapters of the association across the country have decided to implement the water saving technique in commercial and public establishments.The initiative was started in 2016 when the association decided to save water during theunder the ‘’ campaign. The effort now has been successful and the small aerators fitted in the taps of commercial establishments,, residential complexes and educational institutes have helped the city to save 25 crore litres of water in three years.“The move was started in December 2015 when the state was reeling from severe drought. I was having a conversation with my daughter who was 14 years then about the importance of judicial use of water,” said the chairman of IPA Pune chapter, Pravin Bora.Bora said that his daughter inspired to come up with an initiative to make efficient use of water. “We thought of a simple solution of installing the aerators in the tap that are water efficient. The normal aerators on taps allow 10-12 litres of water per minute. Some good quality water aerators restrict the water flow to 5-6 litres per minute. However, the water efficient fittings allow 2.5-3 litres of water for the same time duration making them the most water efficient,” he added.The chairman of the association said they started with some residential societies and commercial establishments who agreed to install them. “One aerator costs about Rs 120 each and can become an investment of Rs 500 for a house. These aerators regulate the flow and can last for almost a decade,” he added.Bora said that in the past three years 18,000 wash basins in the city and 3,000 showers have been fitted with such aerators saving water of about 25 crore litres.Rajesh Dubey, facility manager at 24K Glitterati apartments said the idea to fit the aerators was to make responsible use of water. “The residential society faces water crisis from the civic body and there is a need for efficient use of water. The housemaids most of the times cannot be watched and resort to irresponsible behaviour towards using water while doing the dishes,” said Dubey.Shankar Chavan, deputy general manager (engineering), Phoenix Market city mall said, “The average water requirement of all toilet blocks across four floors of the mall was 0.8 lakh litres per day. The mall sees heavy traffic of people and the amount of water required was enormous.”Chavan said the IPA introduced aerators which helped to reduce the water requirement of the mall by 50-60 per cent. About 25 such establishments including residential townships, restaurants and industries have adopted the initiative.“This year it has been decided to take the same initiative and install low flow fixtures across such establishments across the country. The fresh water supply in the country is depleting. India contributes to 17 per cent of the world population but the sources of fresh water are only four per cent,” said Gurmit Singh, all India president of the IPA.