On 22–23 January 2023, Rico Zook visited TVC’s land at Thaggatti, Tamil Nadu with Jan Bührer and Ananas, guided by Madhav, to assess water management with water security as the primary outcome. This note summarizes their 64-page written report; the full report PDF and its supporting maps, satellite images, and photos are attached alongside it.
The visit took place in the dry season, so flow estimates are based on observed signs plus Madhav’s experience rather than direct monsoon observation — the report itself flags this as a limitation and recommends prioritizing easy, inexpensive, high-impact work first, revisiting flow-dependent recommendations after a monsoon.
Themes
- Conservation — fixtures and habits matter, but the core framing is source to sink: catch water near where it enters the system, hold and cycle it (ponding, infiltration) before it leaves. Greywater cycling and dry (composting) toilets are recommended as significant levers for a 50-family community, deferred to a dedicated appendix on greywater design (Art Ludwig’s work cited).
- Climate change — motivated the consult; expect both more extreme events and faster swings between them, arguing for maximizing storage capacity sized for short, intense monsoon bursts.
- Implementation — the report gives priority levels and general construction guidance per recommendation, not full engineering designs (the collapsed dam rebuild is the one exception with more specific guidance). It recommends professional consultation for anything dam-related.
Recommendations by area
- Keyline & keypoints — TVC’s landscape mapped to keyline/keypoint concepts (Map 1–3).
- Southeast (SE) section — road diversion to ridgeline pond, ridgeline pond, Milkweed ponds, gully plugs & dams.
- South drainage — soil mining considerations.
- Middle road / middle drainage — road-as-catchment diversion, middle road diversion pond, outflow pond, infiltration well.
- Play field pond & diversions — pond overflow, east drain diversion, NW drainage diversion to play field pond (diversion dam, pipe intake/setup, diversion path & channel).
- Northwest (NW) drainage — west catchment ponds, check dams.
- Far north keypoint pond.
- Roads — general water management on roads, roads crossing drainages, the Phase 1 housing cluster (with a potential second drainage), middle road crossing south drainage, the proposed south access road, and the alternative access road (placement, maintenance, bad culvert placement).
- Bore wells — the bore well near the septic at the SE-section middle road, and abandoned bore wells.
- Structural water harvesting — cistern siting for the housing cluster (Map 7), continued in the Phase 1 housing cluster swales/drainage maps (Map 4–6, 8).
Related
- Author: Rico Zook
- Site guide: Madhav
- Supporting media: Design/Water Security/Graphics/