STEP WELLS: The ancient engineering marvels of water harvesting

Описание: Today, The world is facing a major water crisis and this crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs but the mismanagement of the available water to such an extent that billions of people - and the environment - suffer immensely.

Today 1 in every 9 people lacks access to safe drinking water.

With the current state of affairs, the correcting measures can still be implied to avoid the worsening of the crisis.

There is an increasing awareness regarding our limited freshwater resources and the need to protect it, both in terms of quantity and quality.

During our weekend hike to a nearby forest, we came across a Bawari / Baoli or known as a stepwell, in English

These were ancient ecologically safe engineering marvels of water harvesting and conservation that existed in India for nearly 1,500 years.


They were common in hot regions that received little rain.
The rain water was diverted from canals built on the hilly outskirts of the city to man-made tanks where it seeped into the ground, raising the water table and recharging an intricate network of aquifers that were built deep, with steps narrowing down to the well to minimise the water that could evaporate.

A stepwell had stairs to reach the bottom and room-like structures inside where caravans/pilgrims and other travelers could rest during the heat of the day.

Due to its design and the construction material used, the temperature in a stepwell was 5-10 degrees lower than the temperature outside.

With water crisis rampant in many parts of India due to warming climate which is drying up lakes and rivers as well as changing rainfall pattern, maybe the government could start looking at reviving the traditional systems of water harvesting in the country or incorporate some ideas in modern water storage/harvesting techniques.