Monday Motivation

Exciting News: Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad), one of the RCA members has been awarded the runners-up position for the 2023-2024 WRI Ross Centre Prize for Cities for collaborative efforts in reviving and restoring the Kham River (Read more)

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Monday Motivation

Leveraging River Economy

Tirupati

The city has leveraged on the existing reservoir i.e. Kailashgiri reservoir having an area of 12 acres to provide a 4 MW floating solar panel. Other then the economic benefits, the project has also helped the city in reducing the carbon emission.

Lake Rejuvenation

Ujjain

Rejuvenation of Rudrasagar lake. The rejuvenation envisions connecting people to the lake and maintaining hydrological balance and creating favorable environment for birds and aquatic species through sustainable development

Waste Management

New Town, Kolkata

New Town, Kolkata is working towards net zero emissions and has come up with a unique idea of “Zero Shop” where waste management meets empowerment. Under the initiative 32 underprivileged self help groups have been involved to generate financial independence through recycling solid waste.

Waste Management

Copenhagen

The waste to energy plant in the densest area of the city has been converted into a urban space. During summer months, the rooftop activity park provides visitors with hiking trails, playgrounds, fitness structures, trail running, climbing walls, and views across the city. In the winter, the park is used as a ski slopes. The project includes an urban recreation center and environmental education hub, turning social infrastructure into an architectural landmark.

Spring Rejuvenation

Uttarakhand

Spring/stream rejuvenation includes creating forest area around the river/streams, and contour trenches or small ponds, which helps in ground water recharge and contributes to the e-flow of the river/stream.

Waterbody Rejuvenation

Chennai

Chennai has the dual challenge of managing high water stress and heavy rainfall. In 2015, a 100-year rainfall event caused tragic loss of life and the destruction of property valued at $20 billion. This event spurred the creation of the Chennai Water Restoration and Resilience Framework to unify and scale the efforts of all organisations and citizens working on water body restoration, which will help to prevent future flooding and recharge aquifers.

Waste Management

Trivandrum, Varanasi

Without proper waste management, rivers and drains are used as dumping grounds deteriorating the health of the rivers. The city of Varanasi and Trivandrum have joined hands with Plastic Fischer to collect and process the plastic waste from the Varuna River and drains flowing through the city using a trash boom barrier built from local materials. Through this intervention, the cities are able to stop tons of plastic waste going directly into the river and subsequently in the oceans. This has also helped in creating awareness among the citizens on plastic waste management and creating local jobs.

Citizen Engagement

Salem, Tamil Nadu

An informal citizen group ‘Salem Citizen’s Forum (SCF)’ was formed consisting of school students, teachers, volunteers etc. to rejuvenate the lakes of the city. One of the largest lakes in the city, built by the British to irrigate nearby farmlands was taken for rejuvenation. The lake is spread across 58 acres and used to be a major water body in the city. But gradually it became a dumpsite for Salem’s municipal solid waste.

Water-sensitive Design

Kunshan, China

Kunshan City has been seeing rapid urbanization, urban development has led to big challenges including polluted rivers, an overstretched sewerage system, and a city vulnerable to heatwaves and floods.

In response, Kunshan has taken initiatives to become more water sensitive – a concept that places water at the heart of how we design urban areas, through strategies like adding wetlands into the city, or vegetation that cools concrete streets.

Riverfront Development

Surat

Surat, nestled beside the Tapi River in Gujarat, has earned the title of the cleanest city for two consecutive years in the Swachh Sarvekshan, owing to its robust waste management initiatives. Surat has taken many initiatives to manage the city’s solid waste which are 100% coverage of door-to-door collection and segregation of dry and wet waste at source. The city’s innovative practices include composting flower and wet waste, reusing treated used water, and rejuvenating water bodies, showcasing a comprehensive approach to sustainability.

Solid Waste Management

Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Devguradiya, earlier known as Indore’s dumping ground for almost 70 years. The particulate matter pollution was visibly high in the area not to forget the foul odour caused due to hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia. The trenching ground has been replaced by a city forest and the Gobar Dhan Bio CNG plant. Gobar Dhan plant set up by the Indore Municipal corporation, processes 550 tons of the 700 tons per day (TPD) of biodegradable waste in the city. The plant proposes to improve the city’s air quality by mitigating 130,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Aquifer Recharge

Rotterdam

The Rotterdam North sub-municipality is the first to transform a ‘stony’ plaza into an attractive city plaza that offers space for water, sports and greenery. The concept of ‘water plaza’ is a innovation in order to keep dry feet in a densely populated area during heavy rains and to make the city more attractive at the same time. The water plaza holds three large rainwater collection ponds which, when the weather is dry, can be used as amphitheatres, basketball and volleyball courts, or skateboarding rinks.

Waste Management

Dhenkanal, Odisha

Dhenkanal a small township in Odisha is famous for its fairs and festivals. But lately, it has added another distinction of a city that processes 100 per cent of its solid waste. The transformation happened in 2019 when the city took it upon itself to collect, segregate and recycle all of its municipal solid waste. It also formed a plan to earn money by selling its segregated waste through material recovery centres.

Aquifer Recharge

Roseville

Roseville’s primary water source is Folsom Lake and during the last drought, the city experienced fluctuations in water supply when Folsom Lake was at its lowest level on record. To emerge from the drought-like situation, the city initiated a “groundwater program”. Through the use of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) technology, the city is injecting and later extracting stored drinking water from the groundwater basin. This is vitally important to enhance water supply reliability, and maintain groundwater as a sustainable resource in and around the city.

Rejuvenating river

Indonesia

Citarum River is the longest and largest river in Indonesia, which flows through thousands of settlements including Indonesia’s most populous province. The Green Cross Switzerland and the Pure Earth (Blacksmith Institute) list Citarum river as one of the ten most polluted places in the world. Around 9 million people lived in close contact with the river, where levels of faecal coliform bacteria are more than 5,000 times the mandatory limits.

Water-sensitive Design

Chennai

As a step towards making Chennai water secure, the city has initiated a program Water as Leverage. Under the program, a model “City of 1000 Tanks” has been developed. It offers a holistic solution to the problems of floods, water scarcity and pollution and identifies the interrelationships between the underlying causes in Chennai. A project has been demonstrated at the Little Flower Convent in Chennai designed to create a closed-loop, nature-based water treatment system. Using nature-based solutions, the project repaired the broken infrastructure to collect rainwater and treat wastewater locally to replenish the aquifer, thus ensuring local water security and climate resilience for the Little Flower Convent, a school of 500 visually and hearing-impaired pupils.

Aquifer Recharge

Ahmedabad

As a step towards reducing urban flooding in the city, before the arrival of monsoon, the residential societies are making new KHAMBATI KUVAS (Wells) within the compound area.

It was observed that, the residential societies which made KUVAS (Wells) a few years back have lower intensity and frequency of flooding. Also, every year a decrease in TDS and improved groundwater levels is being observed in most of these societies.

Nala Restoration and Green mobility development

Hubballi Dharwad

Hubballi Dharwad has undertaken several citizen-centric projects like the development of Tolankere Lake, Mahatma Gandhi Park etc. under the Smart City project. The Green Mobility Corridor project initiated by the city with the theme of open space upgradation, Nala renovation and Green corridor development has brought accolades for the state as the project has won the first prize in the category of innovative idea award for the CITIIS project.

Sustainable recreational activity in River

Arra, Bihar

In a pioneering effort, India’s first climate-resilient floating house has been introduced. This project aims to confront the growing challenges posed by climate change and serves as an innovative response to the unpredictable weather patterns threatening food security and water scarcity. The floating house concept offers a proactive solution, undergoing rigorous testing and displaying promising results. It maintains warmth during harsh winters and showcases resilience to floodwaters, making it an ideal housing solution for flood-prone regions like Bihar.

Reducing Plastic Pollution

Amsterdam

The city is removing plastic from Amsterdam’s rivers and canals using a ‘net’ made from bubbles.

The inventors claims that the invention stops nearly 90% of plastic waste from passing downstream in the river and ultimately in the ocean.

Decentralised Wastewater Management

Chunar, Uttar Pradesh

Chunar, a small town located in the Mirzapur district located on the banks of the Ganga and Jargo river is working on managing the septage waste efficiently. Only 20% of the urban areas are connected to the sewer system and remaining is connected to the onsite sanitation system. To cater this, a 10 KLD septage treatment plant was constructed and campaigns were held to aware people on septage management. This resulted in 51% of the feacal sludge and septage management in the city as compared to 0% in 2017.

Lake Rejuvenation

Indore, Madhya Pradesh

To improve the health of the lake, floating islands and aerators have been provided in the lake. These floating islands, besides improving water quality and reducing algal blooms, are also helping in the beautification of the Lake and providing habitat to all life forms thus helping in the restoration of ecology and biodiversity in and around the lake.

Aquifer Recharge

Pune, Maharashtra

Bhujal App is the first of its kind multilingual Android app developed to track water levels in borewells. It does not require any sensors nor does it require the opening of the borewell assembly to measure the water level. The App works on sonar technology meaning vibrations need to be generated during the measurements by tapping the metal cap on the borewell with a spanner or an iron rod. It has been used in mapping groundwater levels across 300 borewells in pilot areas in Pune as part of developing the Aquifer Recharge Plan under AMRUT 2 Mission.

Waterbody Rejuvenation

Gurugram, Haryana

A small waterbody in Sikanderpur, Gurugram was getting impacted due to the solid and liquid waste being dumped in and around the waterbody.

With the support of local citizen and NGOs, the water body was rejuvenated. Native species were planted around the water body to reduce the pollution load and to provide habitat for the biodiversity.

Recreational activity along river

Cuttack, Odisha

The city has developed a Boat club along the Mahanadi River in Cuttack. The Boat Club serves as an important attraction and recreational point for city people and nearby areas. It features Water Sports activities, Boating, Sailing, Restaurants (Floating Restaurant), Food Joints, an Open Air Amphitheatre, Children’s Play Area, and a Glass Deck facing the Mahanadi River. The Boat Club serves as a good example of creating public spaces for all age type with low-impact development.

Catering Urban Flooding

China

24 provinces in China have experienced severe floods, with over 443 rivers affected. Due to unprecedented urbanization and climate change, the country is experiencing severe flooding with 67% of China’s population now living in flood-prone areas. To deal with this problem, the government came up with the idea of sponge cities, areas designed to soak up as much extra water as possible, stopping it from flooding cities and saving it for future use. Lingang, is a planned sponge park in Shanghai’s Pudong district. It features water-absorbent bricks, allowing water to drain to the soil and central reservations that are used as rain gardens

River Cleanup

Kuala Lampur

Malaysia’s Klang River is an important part of Kuala Lumpur’s epicentre, yet, it is the second largest contributor to marine plastic pollution in the world. The Alliance of River Three (ART!) was founded to help protect, conserve and rehabilitate the Klang River. It is a community created to clean up the river and improve the health of the river. The group conducts clean-up drives every weekend with a group of volunteers. During these clean-ups, trash is cleared along the river. They also build walking trails and replant soil from damaged land in the hope that one day they can rehabilitate the river into a fully operational riverine park.

Drain Rejuvenation

Delhi

Often, drains flowing through the city become the carrier of sewage resulting in increased pollution load in the rivers. Clean drains contribute to making a clean river. Delhi Govt is working towards rejuvenating its drains using nature-based solutions like constructed wetlands to reduce the pollution load in the Yamuna River. The city is also planning to use the clean water from these drains to create more water bodies to aid groundwater recharge.

Riverfront Development

Guwahati, Assam

The Brahmaputra Riverfront Development project and the Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Center, established by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, aim to enhance the riverscape and provide recreational opportunities for visitors, thereby strengthening the connection between people and the river. The Heritage Centre is housed in a restored 170-year-old bungalow and features an art garden, an open-air amphitheatre, a café, and a riverside garden with art installations and viewing decks. The Riverfront Development project spans 6 km, and incorporates both natural and built elements, including a walkway, cycle track, jogging track, and a rejuvenated fish pond.

Lake Rejuvenation

Hosur, Tamil Nadu

Through a comprehensive rejuvenation project, the city revitalized a 9-acre lake area, in just four months. The project featured the construction of a 680 mt walk path, creation of two islands, and development of three wetlands. The area was secured with a 720 mt link fence and made accessible through the gates. To ensure clean water, three storm water inlets were integrated while diverting sewage lines. Additionally, around 500 native species were planted to enhance local biodiversity.

Reuse of Treated Wastewater

Delhi

Every year, the freshwater supply on our planet is decreasing, leading to a scarcity in different parts of the world. With India dealing with the same problem, DJB in collaboration with ‘Absolute Water’, an eco-friendly wastewater management technology provider, is converting sewage water into clean, potable water, and is trying to mitigate the problem of access to this precious resource in the water-stressed city of Delhi. In the pilot project at Keshopur, around 100 KLD of wastewater after treatment is being reused as drinking water for the DJB colony. The remaining water is also being used to clean DTC buses and meet the horticulture needs.

Lake Rejuvenation

Cuttack, Odisha

Ansupa Lake is a 231-hectare horseshoe-shaped fresh water oxbow lake on the left bank of the Mahanadi river. Over the years due to environmental degradations like closure of the inlet and outlet mechanism of flow of water, siltation, weed infestation, water quality changes and due to high eutrophic condition, the lake was slowly getting extinct. Thanks to extensive restoration efforts like Innovative approaches, including the utilization of cutting-edge tools and inclusion of communities dependable on the lake, the water spread area of the lake went up from 400 acres in 2017 to 490 in 2019. The lake had over 60 bird species including 30 migratory species visiting it. Resident birds which had abandoned the lake are now returning to Ansupa lake.

Waterbody Rejuvenation

Nizampet, Telangana

The rejuvenation efforts have successfully transformed this deteriorating lake into a flourishing ecosystem. The sewage falling into the lake was diverted to the nearby treatment systems resulting in improving the water quality. The diversity of birds has increased from 12 to 50 species, butterfly diversity has risen from 2 to 36 species. There has been a notable rise in awareness among local community members, with 276 participants engaged in 10 community programs. The perspectives of these community members have shifted positively towards valuing the revitalized lake. The sustainability of the project is ensured through the continued interest of community members and the municipal corporation.