VADODARA: Ever thought of conserving precious rainwater that usually flows into drains every monsoon? While authorities are still engaged in debating how to check depleting the underground water table, a group of retired engineers in the city has begun on the issue.

The engineers are spreading awareness about rooftop rainwater harvesting among citizens and encouraging them to adopt the technique. “We have been contacting citizens and encouraging them to adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting. This can help them conserve water and also improve the underground water tables,” said Harendra Pathak, one of the retired engineers involved in the project.

“We have visited hundreds of households and big companies and taught them ways to conserve rainwater. The results have been encouraging as people understand the need to conserve water,” he added.

The group, known as Engineering Sewa Trust, has civil engineers , mechanical engineers and hydro-geologists as members. It has been spreading awareness about rooftop rainwater harvesting for last one year.

“People having bore-wells in their premises can easily adopt this technique. All they need is a pipeline that brings water down from the roof and disposes it into the bore-well pipe,” said Pathak who worked as hydro-geologist in a government organisation.

“People usually don’t adopt this technique thinking it would drain their pockets. Even consultants charge high sums of money for just making drawings. We don’t charge any money,” Pathak told TOI.

“When I started working as a hydro-geologist in the city, the underground water table was quite high. But, since then the water table has been going down on an average of one metre annually. It is a matter of concern and people should start rainwater harvesting for a better future,” Pathak said.

“While there is awareness regarding rainwater harvesting in villages, people in urban areas are relatively less informed,” he said.