Plans to divert rain water to the Matrimandir lake

According to meeting minutes of the Auroville Town Development Council appointed by the Governing Board, two rainwater “collection ponds” have been designed to “collect the water from the stretch of the Crown which will go from Solar Kitchen to Savitri Bhavan” and divert it to the Matrimandir Lake. One of these ponds is already a natural water collection area and the other would be an artificial collection area where the water would be filtered before being pumped into the Lake. There is no mention in the minutes of the potential impact to the local bioregion and the watershed. As this rainwater usually feeds the Irumbai pond it might lead to a negative effect upon surrounding villages’ water collection.