Before being appointed as the District Collector of Erode in May 2023, IAS Raja Gopal Sunkara, who holds dual degrees from IIT-Kharagpur, worked as a commissioner in Coimbatore city’s municipal corporation.

He also served as the executive director of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).

In both these roles, he got a great understanding of water supply systems, but predominantly in urban settings. “Following my posting in Erode (a region known for limited rainfall and irregular water supply), I organised regular inspections to garner a greater understanding of the scale of the rural water distribution problem,” he says.

To address the erratic water supply issues, he installed IoT devices in 50 habitations across 16 villages. The result? Electricity bills were reduced by approximately 40% and the water supply increased by over 20%.

The IOT devices have tank-level alerts providing real-time updates on water levels in the sumps and the overhead tanks. It has an automated function that carries the water from the sumps to the OHT. It also has automatic mechanisms to stop the overflow.

Additionally, you can preset the water supply and the valves will open automatically.

“The initiative costs roughly Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh per OHT, and has been mostly taken up under the village panchayat general fund or 15th Central Finance Commission (CFC) funds,” he says. After the initial successes, he is working on installing it in 150 OHTs in Har Ghar Jal villages (all households in that village are provided with tap water supply) using these funds along with the District Mineral Foundation funds, Corporate Environment Responsibility funds, etc, he informs.

The technology helped the water supply per day increase from 1.65 lakh litres to 2.09 lakh litres — an additional supply of 44,180 litres!

He says, “These savings can be used for providing other amenities to the public. The results for Ponmudi have been reflected in other villages too.”

As for the future, the goal is to install these IoT devices in OHTs located in other villages too. “Our vision is to harness available technology and expand this initiative, one village at a time, utilising existing funds,” says DC Sunkara.