Latest news with #rainwaterharvesting
The Sun
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Champions League stadium given total makeover with host of changes and new HYBRID pitch
A CHAMPIONS League stadium has been given a fresh makeover, including the installation of a HYBRID pitch. Sporting Lisbon have made the upgrades to the Estádio Jose Alvalade as part of an ambitious redevelopment. 5 5 5 As part of the work, a new hybrid pitch has been installed, which provides more than just a turf for matches to happen on. The pitch is capable of harvesting rainwater and reusing it in order to irrigate itself. This system is aligned with the Portuguese giants' environmental objectives. A video has been released showing the process of changing the turf at the Estádio Jose Alvalade. The old turf was dug up with diggers and the new version was laid bit by bit across the pitch. It comes a year after Sporting announced it would be transforming the club over the next decade. This includes a strategic vision to build the club into a brand that is "unique, global and distinctive". The stadium has also had upgrades through the installation of service rings, which are concealed from view. The stadium is also now more capable of hosting events other than football. Arsenal make major change to Emirates stadium just days before new Premier League season As well as the work on the playing area, more rows of seating have been installed. This has increased the stadium's capacity by 2,000 seats to a total of 52,095. However, it does not make it the biggest in Liga Portugal, which is the 68,100 Estádio da Luz of Benfica. It has also filled in the 'moat' that surrounded the pitch in order to bring supporters closer to the action. 5 5 It is not the only Champions League stadium to be facing changes. Arsenal have removed the tunnel cover at the Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. Sporting have never won the Champions League in their history and have only gone as far as the quarter-finals.
Arab News
08-08-2025
- General
- Arab News
In Pakistan, teacher-turned-activist fights climate change one rainwater well at a time
ISLAMABAD: In the foothills of Azad Kashmir, where receding springs once signaled environmental collapse and families quietly planned their migration, a former schoolteacher is proving that climate action doesn't have to come from the top. Usman Abbasi, 46, began his environmental journey a decade ago in his hometown of Kotli, where he watched rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and deforestation chip away at the valley's ecological balance. A teacher at the time, Abbasi started modestly, planting trees and installing dustbins around his community, but the impact of Pakistan's climate crisis soon compelled him to take his mission further. Fast forward to 2025, and Abbasi is leading a quiet but powerful grassroots movement centered on rainwater harvesting wells and ponds. His efforts, now expanding into the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, have helped communities save millions of rupees, restored groundwater in parched regions and convinced entire families to abandon their plans to leave. 'This solution is not expensive,' Abbasi told Arab News during a visit to the Institute of Islamic Sciences in Islamabad, one of the many institutions transformed by his approach. 'If someone can afford to install a Rs600,000 ($2,117) borewell at home, they can add this [electric motor] system for just Rs150,000 ($529).' Abbasi first visited the seminary during a 2024 plantation drive and discovered that the campus, home to over 1,200 students, had little access to piped water. The school was spending Rs30,000 ($105) per day on tankers. Months later, he returned with a solution: a Rs180,000 ($635) rainwater harvesting well, which now channels monsoon runoff from rooftops into an underground system filled with natural filtration materials. 'It's drilled like a borewell and filled with charcoal, gravel, sand, broken bricks or stones, and wrapped in a geofabric cloth to prevent dirt from entering,' he explained. 'Rainwater from rooftops and the surrounding ground is channeled into this well through pipes visible in the two manholes.' The result was immediate. Two dry boreholes were revived, and today, a single motor runs for six hours a day, providing water for drinking, washing, and daily use, saving the seminary nearly Rs900,000 ($3,175) each month. 'In our area, groundwater has dropped drastically,' said Abrar Ahmed, deputy general secretary of the institute. 'Borewells that once worked at 70–80 feet now have to go 500 feet deep, and even then, it is hard to find water. We're hopeful that by implementing the same method for our other borewells, not only will the institution's water crisis be resolved, but the surrounding area's needs can also be fulfilled.' 'RAINWATER HARVESTING' Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, relies heavily on groundwater for both agriculture and domestic use. According to the World Bank, 90 percent of rural households and over 50 percent of agriculture depend on underground water. Yet despite this reliance, the country lacks a coordinated groundwater management system, and aquifers are being rapidly depleted due to over-extraction, poor infrastructure, and climate change. Abbasi's model is being noticed. Aamir Mehmood Mirza, Secretary of Environment, Wildlife and Fisheries, praised his work and its impact on community awareness. 'He should also seek technical guidance and expert assistance to yield better results, and we are developing a model soon with our experts to gather scientific data on such efforts to expand them on a larger scale,' he said. In recent years, Pakistan has introduced measures to encourage rainwater harvesting. In 2025, the federal cabinet approved a Green Building Code mandating such systems in all new construction. In Punjab province, the Environmental Protection Agency has required rainwater harvesting across 23 industrial sectors. In Rawalpindi, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, is installing systems in 30 public buildings. But Abbasi's work extends far beyond formal policy. In the rugged hills of northern Pakistan, he has built hundreds of rainwater ponds that have brought back natural springs, revived livestock farming, and allowed residents to stay on ancestral land. His influence is growing online, too. Using platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, Abbasi has amassed more than 600,000 followers. 'This is the real use of social media,' he said. 'Through my social media, I have created a following of like-minded people and together we can drive this social change.' In the summer of 2024, Abbasi and his students at the Beaconhouse School System planted nearly 80,000 trees across Azad Kashmir. His work has earned him a presidential nomination by the Azad Kashmir government. 'This [environmental conservation] is something that we all must absolutely do, not to earn something from it but for our country and our future generations,' Abbasi said. 'If a collective action to preserve the environment is not taken, then in a few years, there will be no water, there will be mountains of trash everywhere and a concrete jungle.'
Arab News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi team joins training on rainwater harvesting in China
RIYADH: A Saudi team from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is taking part in a training program organized by the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences in cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The team includes 12 specialists from the ministry's water agency, the Saudi Irrigation Organization, and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The course, being held in Lanzhou, China, from July 3-22, focuses on rainwater harvesting technologies and their applications. It is attended by representatives from China's Ministry of Water Resources, along with several water experts and specialists. The ministry said its participation aligns with efforts to implement international agreements and memoranda of understanding with partner countries. The course provides a unique platform for exchanging expertise in water-related fields, particularly rainwater harvesting, it added. The course also covers the design of harvesting systems in rural and urban areas, improvement of collected water quality management and advanced purification technologies, the SPA added. Supplementary irrigation techniques, economic evaluation of harvesting projects, concepts of sponge cities, water reuse, and the role of harvesting technologies in combating desertification and promoting sustainability are also explored. The ministry said that the training features scientific lectures, practical workshops and field visits to innovative projects in several Chinese provinces. The visits showcase systems for securing drinking water from rain, irrigated agriculture projects, sponge city initiatives, and integrated environmental models linking water technologies with urban and rural sustainability. The ministry highlighted the importance of strengthening international cooperation and building national capacity in water management, according to the SPA. This reflects its integrated approach to developing technical competencies, exchanging expertise with leading countries, advancing the water system and promoting sustainable, innovative solutions to water challenges in line with Vision 2030 goals.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Group from Mexico helps Nipissing First Nation build rainwater harvesting unit
A delegation from Mexico is visiting Nipissing First Nation as part of a project to build rainwater harvesting units. A delegation from Mexico is visiting Nipissing First Nation as part of a project to build rainwater harvesting units. Many hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation. Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from three communities from Mexico. FN rain catcher1 Many hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation. Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from Mexico. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) The group is building a rainwater harvesting unit that will be ready by the next time it rains. It will collect and store runoff from the cabin roof for future use. It's part of the One Water Project, an Indigenous-led initiative aimed at enhancing water resilience for First Nations communities in Ontario. 'This is all about building relationships across nations to achieve water resilience,' said project coordinator Jose Torcal. Through a partnership between the Nipissing First Nation and the Mexican delegation, a friendship was formed. Rain catch3 vMany hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation. Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from Mexico. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) Rain catch2 vMany hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation. Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from Mexico. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) It's funded by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The group is here to share their knowledge of water management. 'Mexico has very extensive experience with rainwater harvesting. Isla Urbana, which is a social enterprise in Mexico, has done over 40,000 systems,' Torcal said. Maribel Gallardo, who came all the way from Oaxaca, Mex., is lending a hand. Water is a right Through a translator, Gallardo said it's important to share knowledge and expertise to help others who might not have access to clean water. 'Human access to water is a right. It's something that we need,' she told CTV News. 'It's a necessary thing to have water.' The partnership started in June 2023 as part of a two-year pilot project. In August of that year, a group from the First Nation flew to Mexico to learn about the water harvesting system in that country. 'In Ontario and in this part of the world, we have an abundance of water. We really take that for granted,' Nipissing First Nation manager Curtis Avery said. Rain catch 4 vMany hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation. Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from Mexico. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) 'We're hoping to use this as an example to show that we can put these units on other cabins in the forest, for instance, to help our people when they're harvesting in the forest, or even if members are interested in putting one on their house themselves.' Avery said the First Nation community is hoping this project will be an example for other Indigenous communities in Ontario struggling to get access to clean water or that are under boil water advisories. According to the Government of Canada, there are currently 26 long-term drinking water advisories in 25 communities in Ontario, while 77 advisories have been lifted. 'We're trying to be a seed for the idea of harvesting rainwater to not only combat some of these issues for other First Nations but also to make us more resilient in the face of climate change,' Avery said. This is the second rainwater harvesting system to be installed at the First Nation. The first was erected at Nbisiing Secondary School last year. Gallardo said she has enjoyed her time in Canada and is 'grateful for how well we've been received.' 'This is an amazing experience that we're having,' she smiled.
