IPA MC believes in holding seminars on current and important topics. Looking at the ‘Environment & Climate Change Summit’ held recently at Copenhagen and our responsibility towards the environment, IPA MC thought of organizing a seminar on ‘Use, Reuse, Misuse & Abuse of Water.’

The seminar was organised at the Hotel Le Royal Meridien on 12th December 2009. The Chief Guest of the seminar was Dr. Prem C. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Spectral Service Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and Chairman of Indian Green Building Council.

The seminar was initiated with Welcome Address by Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora, the Chapter Chairman - IPA MC. After the Welcome Address, Mr. Arora talked about ‘Environment & Sustainability’.

Dr. Prem C. Jain shared his concern with the audience on the growing need of saving water. He enlightened the gathering about various means & methods to conserve water. According to him, there is a need to curtail the use of water from 90 ltrs/ head to 45 ltrs/head. He also suggested various methods of Green measures in plumbing both on ‘Reuse and Restricted Use of Water.’

Further, there was a Key Note Address by Prof. Soli Arceivala, who also made a presentation on ‘Reuse of Water & Sustainability’. Prof. Arcievala’s presentation was followed by presentation on ‘Reuse of Water in Townships’ by Mr. V.Suresh, Principal Executive Officer of M/s. Hirco.

There were many other interesting presentations by industry experts. Mr. K.S. Raghuveer, Associate Vice President of M/s. Ion Exchange Waterleau Ltd., made a presentation on ‘Total Water Management for Residential Complexes - Case Studies’. Thereafter, a presentation on ‘Reuse of Water’ was made by Mr. Sharat V. Rao of Engineering Creations & Public Health Consultancy & Vice Chairman, IPA MC.
Mr. Ajit Khandeshe, M.D., M/s. Kwan International shared his views on ‘Recycling of Water Using Membrane Bio Reactor’. A presentation on ‘Experience sharing on Efficiency Improvement Opportunities in Water Pumping Systems for Residential Buildings’ was made by Mr. Rahul Agnihotri, Project Manager, IIEC. This was based on the surveys conducted in Mumbai on residential societies including a few buildings at Hiranandani Constructions.

Mr. Rajeshwar Dandale of M/s. Eureka Forbes, led emphasis on the quality of water in his presentation on ‘Water Treatment – An Overview’. Further, elaborating on the same topic, Mr. Ankur Parikh from M/s. ALFA UV made a presentation on ‘Disinfection in Piped Water System’.

Stressing on the need to conserve water, Mr. Ramani Iyer from Forbes Marshall, Pune & Member CII Water Council and Mr. Ulhas Paranjpe, a Consultant made excellent presentations on ‘CII National Plan for Water’ and ‘Rain Water Harvesting Scenario in a City’ respectively.

Mr. Manish, a student of one of the Civil Engineering Colleges in Mumbai, gave an excellent presentation on ‘Repair of leakages in Drainage & Sewage Pipes’. The audience was highly impressed by technical inputs of the student.

Followed by Manish’s presentation was a sponsorial presentation by Mr. Amish Mehta on behalf of Mehta Brothers & Co. and iTap S.p.A., Italy. The deliberations with excellent technical inputs were the best from among the seminars held by IPA MC so far. With over 125 participants from various fields of the construction industry, the seminar was a grand success.