Railway workshop to utilise rainwater collected in pond

The Golden Rock Railway Workshop here has taken a significant step towards conserving fresh water for its daily requirements by using rainwater collected in a huge artificial pond created inside its sprawling premises for component cleaning and watering the gardens.

The pond was established a few metres away from the workshop's west gate end a few months ago. Thanks to the heavy downpour which lashed the city during Cyclone Gaja in mid-November, the artificial pond has realised about four lakh litres of water out of its total holding capacity of around seven lakh litres.

A membrane sheet has been placed at the bottom and sides of the pond to retain the water and prevent percolation. Workshop officials have introduced Gambusia fish inside the pond as a biocontrol measure to eradicate mosquito larvae. A solar agitator-cum-water pump has been installed on one side of the pond.

With the pond holding a good quantity of rainwater, the workshop authorities have decided to lay pipelines connecting the pond with the shops inside and to the gardens at different spots where saplings of various species have been planted.

The collected rainwater would be utilised for component cleaning inside the shops as well as for watering the gardens to the maximum extent, said a senior workshop official. This would help in saving precious freshwater taken from the nearby Cauvery riverbed for workshop requirements.

The workshop is engaged in periodic overhaul of over 100 diesel locomotives and 1,000 passenger coaches every year, requiring a huge quantity of water. The creation of pond was an attempt to conserve fresh water, the official added.

Source