Client: Khadigram Girls’ School e.V.
Project partner: Shram Bharati Khadigram
Project: Development of a concept for water conservation
Planner: Michael Grausam, Wolf Raber
Period: June – October 2012
Location: Khadigram, India
On behalf of the association “Mädchenschule Khadigram e.V.” (Khadigram Girls’ School e.V.), we developed a concept for filtering and using gray water for a girls’ school in Khadigram. The project was developed in cooperation with a local agricultural organization, KVK. The concept study was carried out in partnership with Wolf Raber, a graduate engineer in environmental protection technology.
Khadigram is located in the state of Bihar, the poorhouse of India. The climate in the region is characterized by long, hot dry seasons. In recent years, there has been almost no rain at all. At the same time, the groundwater table is falling rapidly, meaning that water has become a scarce commodity.
There are massive problems with the water infrastructure – high levels of water wastage due to inefficient pumps and leaks – and the current outflow onto the neighboring property, where the grey water seeps away unused.
In addition to the construction of a washing area with lockable taps and controlled drainage via closed sewage pipes, the concept also provides for the use of gray water to cultivate the school’s own kitchen garden. First, the water is to be filtered through a grease trap before being passed on to so-called banana circles, where it is used to irrigate bananas and papayas. The remaining water flows into a reservoir, which can be opened via furrows in the ground to irrigate a field. In this way, water consumption can be reduced through more efficient fresh water management and the waste water can be used sensibly to cultivate agricultural land.