RAIN WATER HARVESTING

The islands in Maldives depend on rain water. Since they are small islands surrounded by the sea, the well water is salty. Well water is used for bathing. It is also used for washing clothes and cooking utensils. Rain water is needed for cooking and drinking. When the monsoon arrives, people clean the aluminum roofs of their houses and prepare to collect the rainwater. They do not collect the water during the first few days of the rain. They let the rain clean the roof further. Some locals collect the rainwater in a bottle first to check if there are impurities from the roof. Once the water is clear enough they connect the pipe to a large storage tank. Some people use a piece of cloth between the pipe and the storage tank to act as a filter. The water collected during the rainy season usually lasts for one year, which is till the next monsoon. Every house has a large Sintex water storage tank. After the tsunami in 2004, the Red Cross donated storage tanks and almost every house had two big storage tanks.

If the rain gets delayed or if there is insufficient rain, water shortage occurs. The schools have a large number of storage tanks. If there was no water at our residence, we used to collect water from the school. Sometimes the school authorities placed restrictions on the amount of water that we can collect. A large number of students come to school every day and so their requirement for water is more.

Once there was a severe water shortage in Raa Meedhoo and I had to buy bottles of mineral water for a few weeks before the rain finally arrived. Sometimes during water shortage desalinated water was distributed among the people. We had to make arrangements to collect it in large plastic containers. The locals were given a few bottles of mineral water for free during one shortage. It was not available for expatriates. I used to drink the rainwater without boiling it. They say it is pure and safe. Some people say rainwater lacks minerals and is not good for health.