Water Management Ideas

         





Anupam Mishra's Ted Talk sowed slides of many different forms of architecture, some modern and some ancient, but all were designed to harvest every drop of water from the desert climate. Respect purity of the water and the people using it was what he described as the most important thing about water and the reason why their system works in India. Respect was directed not just at keeping contaminates from polluting water in collection areas but also for the rights of every person to water. This means no one can own the water, and these values have worked for centuries in India. Catchments, wells, condensation collection, and ample storage areas have worked in the desert climate for hundreds of years. 

The second part of this article is on the French inventor and appropriate technologist from the 1980's Jean Pain. He found a solution to manage the French countryside's underbrush that was so dangerous during wildfire seasons. The pain had discovered that if he were to harvest the underbrush and mulch it up, he could use it for multiple resources. He would place the mulch into approximately 262 square feet of round piles while wetting it in layers. In the center of these mulch piles, a fermentation tank was filled with biodegrading material like food scraps, solid waste, or food prep bi-products. Sealing off the tank would produce a byproduct of methane which he used to run his stove. Then he would run a hundred feet or so of 2-inch black pipe layered throughout the rest of the mulch pile as he layered it into a cylinder shape. The mulch piles could produce around one gallon a minute of 140° F water from the natural heat that breaks down the organic material. He used it for hot water, plus to heat his house as it was circulated in a system of pipes throughout the house. This natural breakdown of organic materials like leaves in valleys or low spots in the forest is how small animals keep warm in the winter. These discussion points are both excellent examples of sustainable harvesting and using water.