10 Aug 2008, 0433 hrs IST, Vijaysinh Parmar ,TNN AHMEDABAD: When residential societies show consciousness towards the environment by taking initiatives on their own, it's indeed a heartening trend. Manali Apartments, near Indian Institute of Management in Vastrapur, has set an outstanding example of this by implementing an artificial groundwater recharge system. Every drop of rainwater is recharged here. Moreover, this system is killing two birds with one stone. The apartment blocks, spread over around 3,000 sq m, used to be severely affected by floods during monsoon. Now, this menace has been averted as flood waters are diverted into the ground. "The apartments are four decades old. There was a natural drainage system which got blocked over time and flooding and water-logging became routine affairs. We decided to divert flood waters to recharge groundwater,'' says Rupal Desai, a resident. Residents have established two kinds of artificial groundwater recharge systems. "We had an old well on the premises which we converted to a recharge structure in which all the water coming from outside is recharged. Another system is on the roof for rainwater. This is being diverted from all four blocks into a borewell," explains Desai, who is an architect. These efforts have generated awareness among residents and people have become conscious about not wasting water. This can be replicated in any other society. In fact, there are many borewells in societies lying blocked which can be converted to groundwater recharge systems, she adds. "Time has come to go for artificial groundwater recharge at mass level. We don't recharge sufficiently, considering amount of groundwater we draw," says Dr AS Patel, head of geology department of MS University, who has done considerable research on artificial groundwater recharge systems. Overexploitation of groundwater has led to deterioration in its quality across the state. There is an imbalance in input-output ratio as well. Such efforts at recharge are encouraging signs, he adds.