The City of 1,000 Tanks Water Balance Pilot, is a demonstration project showcasing the transformative capacity of the Water as Leverage programme, which envisions a water abundant Chennai. Using nature-based solutions, the project repaired the broken infrastructure, collects rainwater and treats wastewater locally in order 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.
This replicable and scalable demonstration project investigates the processes and steps needed to achieve the required change and aims to call for the engagement of government departments, resident groups, businesses, and institutions; thereby enabling ward, district and city-wide implementation.
The project is funded by the Government of the Netherlands and co-financed by the Excellence Program of the Goethe Institut and the Wipro Urban Ecology Small Grants Program. City of 1,000 Tanks is Chennai’s first collaborative water alliance made up of urban designers, architects, engineers, ecologists, policy researcher, engagement experts, cultural and academic institutions. This consortium was established through – an initiative of the Netherlands government with the Honourable Mr Henk Ovink, the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of The Netherlands as founding father.
Location
Chennai - T.Nagar
Area
2300 m2 or 0.5 Acres - 800 Beneficiaries - 300 P.E.
Year
2021-2023
Team
Eva Pfannes, Sylvain Hartenberg, Hsoc Mathai George, Radka Komrsova
Project by
City of 1,000 Tanks Alliance
Event
Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia - Partner for Water Subsidie 2019
Commissioner
The Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, [b]Henk Ovink and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Project Owners: Little Flower Convent School for the Blind and the Deaf
Support
Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Little Flower Convent School for the Blind and the Deaf, Goethe Institut Chennai, Wipro Foundation, Chennai Resilience Centre
Collaborators
City of 1,000 Tanks Alliance:
Team Lead: OOZE architects & Urbanists (Eva Pfannes, Sylvain Hartenberg with Hsoc Mathai George, Radka Komrsova) / Team: Madras Terrace (Archana Y, Sudheendra K, Shilesh Harihran), IIT Madras (Dr. Balaji Narasimhan, Dr. Indumathi Nambi, Krushil Modi), Care Earth Trust (Dr. Jayshree Vencatesan), Eco Village International (Michael Shaw), Capability Landscape_Auroville (Gilles Boulicaut), IRCDUC (Dr. Vanessa Peter), Urayugal Social Welfare Trust (Dr. Nundiyny Prabakaran), Paperman Foundation (Mathew Jose, Vardhaman Sakhlecha), Rain Center (Dr. Sekhar Raghavan)
Contractors: Madras Terrace Works, Green Line Builders, Nala Builders, Go-Water
Status
Ongoing