Rainwater harvesting and stormwater management for climate-resilient river cities

EVERY city in India can be called a river city. Almost all have waterbodies flowing through them or near them. But the fate of most of these waterbodies is a matter of concern.

Many are severely polluted. Others have been filled up and built over. With the demise of these ‘sponges’, the drainage capacity of most cities has been destroyed, leaving them open to threats from extreme storm events and urban flooding. 

The solution lies in understanding the challenges of rapid urbanisation and devising engineering solutions accordingly – for instance, rainwater can be collected and diverted through correctly designed drains to different water harvesting structures such as waterbodies to recharge the groundwater and avoid waterlogging. 

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) invites nominations/applications for a two-part training programme, which is a part of the three-year CSE sub-programme supported by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), aimed at building capacity of cities in the Ganga basin and making them water-sensitive.

It is a part of the ongoing efforts by NMCG for ensuring the convergence of Namami Gange with other national missions such as AMRUT 2.0, Smart Cities and SBM 2.0.

Part A (ONLINE)

January 29-February 14, 2024

Open to Indian and foreign participants 

Part A of this training programme – which will be delivered online -- will familiarise the participants with the fundamental concepts and learnings. It will focus on:

Overview of changing rainfall patterns in today’s climate-risked world
Monitoring rainfall: Use of different rain gauges
Introduction to urban flooding: Why urban India floods
Basics of designing stormwater drains in cities
Overview of the challenges of managing stormwater in urban areas
Ways to collect, divert and recharge groundwater through rainwater harvesting structures

Part B (ONSITE)

February 21-23, 2024

Venue: AAETI , Nimli, Rajasthan

Open only to Indian participants 

Part B of the training programme will be held at the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI) in Nimli. It will offer the participants advanced concepts and learnings, and will focus on:

Challenges of managing stormwater in cities: Anthropogenic and natural factors, urban planning and drainage disruption, density of built-up area and run-off, and rainfall intensity and climate change

Engineering (stormwater drainage systems) and spatial planning challenges

Planning and designing of stormwater drains

How stormwater drains can be used to solve urban flooding: Best management practices

Planning and designing of rainwater harvesting systems using stormwater drains: Maintenance and monitoring the system for improved groundwater recharge

Communication strategies and institutional arrangements to promote stormwater management and rainwater harvesting

Some important pointers

For nominated government officials, the travel cost to Delhi and back will be borne by the respective nominating department/authority/state. For others, the travel cost to Delhi and back will be borne by the participants themselves.

CSE will arrange the travel from CSE’s main office in Delhi to the training centre (AAETI) in Rajasthan and back.

Interested applicants can opt for any one or both of the parts of the training.

The training fees includes the cost of training, boarding-lodging and a field trip.

The selected participants are expected to reach CSE’s main office (41, TughlakabadInstitutional Area, New Delhi), by 12:00 noon on February 20, 2024.

Participants arriving late will miss the transport facility to Nimli and will have to make their arrangements and bear the cost of travelling to the training centre.

The participants can arrange for their return tickets from Delhi in late evening on February 23, 2024.

AAETI is a green residential training campus of CSE. The accommodation and meals will be arranged at AAETI for the participants. Participants should follow the AAETI rules during their period of training on the campus.

Please get in touch with the training coordinator before fixing your travel itineraries. 

TRAINING COORDINATOR

Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Programme Officer, Water Programme, CSE
+91-8085443793/+91-7903143870
[email protected]