The kings of Mysore (Wodeyar) and their engineers had very good foresight. If you want to understand "What is foresight", you should look at the new layouts that are coming up in Bangalore - the narrow roads, overflowing drainage, etc. - single rain is sufficient to show the "foresight of our modern rulers"!!
The water facility created for Mysore palace more than a century back, is still running fine and smooth - that speaks volumes about the "foresight of Mysore Kings and their engineers"!
Wodeyars had constructed 12 tanks with a capacity of 1.20 Lakh litres on the roof of the Palace building. These tanks are located on the third floor of the palace building just below the 'Gopuram' (Dome) and each tank has the capacity of storing 10,000 litres of water. Since these tanks are constructed inside the RCC of the palace roof (that is 'Gopuram'), they also act as natural air conditioners for the entire Palace! These tanks are designed in such a way that Cauvery water is supplied directly to these tanks through rising pipes. Now, since the supply of Cauvery water has been stopped, an alternative arrangement has been made to supply water from the bore wells located inside the Palace premises.
Probably except for the members of the Royal family and Mysore Palace Board officials, nobody else knows about these large tanks, which are providing water to thousands of visitors who throng the Mysore Palace premises every day.
Mysore Palace Board has also adopted Rain Water Harvesting system which has helped in maintaining the ground water level. By doing this, 1 Crore litres of water is preserved and is available throughout the year.