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An old technology is gaining popularity in a new way. Rain water harvesting is enjoying a
renaissance of sorts in the world, but it traces its history to biblical times. Extensive rain
water harvesting apparatus existed 4000 years ago in the Palestine and Greece. In ancient
Rome, residences were built with individual cisterns and paved courtyards to capture rain
water to augment water from city's aqueducts. As early as the third millennium BC, farming
communities in Baluchistan and Kutch impounded rain water and used it for irrigation dams.
Artificial recharge to ground water is a process by which the ground water reservoir is
augmented at a rate exceeding that obtaining under natural conditions or replenishment. Any
man-made scheme or facility that adds water to an aquifer may be considered to be an
artificial recharge system.
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WHY RAIN WATER HARVESTING :
Surface water is inadequate to meet our demand and we have to depend on ground water.
Due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of rain water into the sub-soil has decreased drastically
and recharging of ground water has diminished.
As you read this guide, seriously consider conserving water by harvesting and managing this
natural resource by artificially recharging the system. The examples covering several dozen
installations successfully operating in India constructed and maintained by CGWB, provide
an excellent snapshot of current systems.
The storage of rain water on surface is a traditional techniques and structures used were
underground tanks, ponds, check dams, weirs etc. Recharge to ground water is a new
concept of rain water harvesting and the structures generally used are :-
Pits :- Recharge pits are constructed for recharging the shallow aquifer.
These are constructed 1 to 2 m, wide and to 3 m. deep which are back filled
with boulders, gravels, coarse sand.
Dug wells:- Existing dug wells may be utilised as recharge structure and
water should pass through filter media before putting into dug well.
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Hand pumps :- The existing hand pumps may be used for recharging the
shallow/deep aquifers, if the availability of water is limited. Water should
pass through filter media before diverting it into hand pumps.
Recharge Shafts :- For recharging the shallow aquifer which are located
below clayey surface, recharge shafts of 0.5 to 3 m. diameter and 10 to 15
m. deep are constructed and back filled with boulders, gravels & coarse
sand.
Lateral shafts with bore wells :- For recharging the upper as well as
deeper aquifers lateral shafts of 1.5 to 2 m. wide & 10 to 30 m. long
depending upon availability of water with one or two bore wells are
constructed. The lateral shafts is back filled with boulders, gravels & coarse
sand.
Spreading techniques :- When permeable strata starts from top then this
technique is used. Spread the water in streams/Nalas by making check
dams, nala bunds, cement plugs, gabion structures or a percolation pond
may be constructed.
Construction activity in and around the city is resulting in the drying up of water bodies and
reclamation of these tanks for conversion into plots for houses.
Free flow of storm run off into these tanks and water bodies must be ensured. The storm run
off may be diverted into the nearest tanks or depression, which will create additional
recharge.
Water spreading
Roof top area 100 sq.m. for individual house and 500 sq.m. for multi-storied
building.
Individual Multistoried
Houses building
Ground water exploitation is inevitable is Urban areas. But the groundwater potential is
getting reduced due to urbanisation resulting in over exploitation. Hence, a strategy to
implement the groundwater recharge, in a major way need to be launched with concerted
efforts by various Governmental and Non-Governmental Agencies and Public at large to
build up the water table and make the groundwater resource, a reliable and sustainable
source for supplementing water supply needs of the urban dwellers.
Recharge of groundwater through storm run off and roof top water collection, diversion and
collection of run off into dry tanks, play grounds, parks and other vacant places are to be
implemented by Special Village Panchayats/ Municipalities /Municipal Corporations and
other Government Establishments with special efforts.
The Special Village Panchayats /Municipalities/Municipal Corporations will help the citizens
and builders to adopt suitable recharge method in one's own house or building through
demonstration and offering subsidies for materials and incentives, if possible.
ATTRIBUTES OF GROUNDWATER :
There are a number of types of systems to harvest rainwater ranging from very simple to the complex
industrial systems. Generally, rainwater is either harvested from the ground or from a roof. The rate at
which water can be collected from either system is dependent on the plan area of the system, its
efficiency, and the intensity of rainfall.
Ground catchments systems channel water from a prepared catchment area into storage. Generally
they are only considered in areas where rainwater is very scarce and other sources of water are not
available. They are more suited to small communities than individual families. If properly designed,
ground catchments can collect large quantities of rainwater.
The regular set-up of a pressurized rooftop rainwater harvesterRoof catchment systems channel
rainwater that falls onto a roof into storage via a system of gutters and pipes. The first flush of rainwater
after a dry season should be allowed to run to waste as it will be contaminated with dust, bird droppings
etc. Roof gutters should have sufficient incline to avoid standing water. They must be strong enough,
and large enough to carry peak flows. Storage tanks should be covered to prevent mosquito breeding
and to reduce evaporation losses, contamination and algal growth. Rainwater harvesting systems
require regular maintenance and cleaning to keep the system hygienic and in good working order.
The subsurface dyke at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kannur under Kerala Agricultural University with the
support of ICAR, has become an effective method for ground water conservation by means of rain water
harvesting technologies. The sub-surface dyke has demonstrated that it is a feasible method for
conserving and exploiting the groundwater resources of the Kerala state of India. The dyke is now the
largest rainwater harvesting system in that region.
Rainwater may also be used for groundwater recharge, where the runoff on the ground is collected and
allowed to be absorbed, adding to the groundwater. In the US, rooftop rainwater is collected and stored
in sump.[2] In India this includes Bawdis and johads, or ponds which collect the run-off from small
streams in wide area.[3][4]
In India, reservoirs called tankas were used to store water; typically they were shallow with mud walls.
Ancient tankas still exist in some places.[4]
Rainwater harvesting in urban areas can have manifold reasons. Some of the reasons rainwater
harvesting can be adopted in cities are to provide supplemental water for the city's requirements, to
increase soil moisture levels for urban greenery, to increase the ground water table through artificial
recharge, to mitigate urban flooding and to improve the quality of groundwater. In urban areas of the
developed world, at a household level, harvested rainwater can be used for flushing toilets and washing
laundry. Indeed in hard water areas it is superior to mains water for this. It can also be used for
showering or bathing. It may require treatment prior to use for drinking
In New Zealand, many houses away from the larger towns and cities routinely rely on rainwater
collected from roofs as the only source of water for all household activities. This is almost inevitably the
case for many holiday homes.
[edit] Quality
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As rainwater may be contaminated, it is often not considered suitable for drinking without treatment.
However, there are many examples of rainwater being used for all purposes — including drinking —
following suitable treatment.
Rainwater harvested from roofs can contain animal and bird faeces, mosses and lichens, windblown
dust, particulates from urban pollution, pesticides, and inorganic ions from the sea (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl,
SO4), and dissolved gases (CO2, NOx, SOx). High levels of pesticide have been found in rainwater in
Europe with the highest concentrations occurring in the first rain immediately after a dry spell;[5] the
concentration of these and other contaminants are reduced significantly by diverting the initial flow of
water to waste as described above. The water may need to be analysed properly, and used in a way
appropriate to its safety. In the Gansu province for example, harvested rainwater is boiled in parabolic
solar cookers before being used for drinking.[6] In Brazil alum and chlorine is added to disinfect water
before consumption.[citation needed] So-called "appropriate technology" methods, such as solar water
disinfection, provide low-cost[citation needed] disinfection options for treatment of stored rainwater for
drinking.
It is important that the system is sized to meet the water demand throughout the dry season. Generally
speaking, the size of the storage tank should be big enough to meet the daily water requirement
throughout the dry season. In addition, the size of the catchment area or roof should be large enough to
fill the tank.
Demand for water is growing in most cities as every urban citizen requires almost double the amount of
water that a rural citizen requires. Moreover, India is rapidly urbanising.
Urban population in India has grown almost five times in five decades from 1951 (62.44 million) to 2001
(286.08). Not long ago, most of our cities were self sufficient in meeting their water needs from the
extensive urban water bodies to supply water to citizens. Today these water bodies have completely
disappeared. Municipalities have been stretched to their limits to find water for the growing urban
populations. Groundwater is being extracted by the government as well as the private parties.
Currently in China and Brazil, rooftop rainwater harvesting is being practiced for providing drinking
water, domestic water, water for livestock, water for small irrigation and a way to replenish ground
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water levels. Gansu province inh China and semi-arid north east Brazil have the largest rooftop
rainwater harvesting projects ongoing.
In Rajasthan, India rainwater harvesting has traditionally been practiced by the people of the Thar
Desert.
In Bermuda, the law requires all new construction to include rainwater harvesting adequate for the
residents.
In the Indus Valley Civilization, Elephanta Caves and Kanheri Caves in Mumbai rainwater harvesting
alone has been used to supply in their water requirements.
In Senegal/Guinea-Bissau, the houses of the Diola-people are frequently equipped with homebrew
rainwater harvesters made from local, organic material.
In the United Kingdom water butts are oft-found in domestic gardens to collect rainwater which is then
used to water the garden.
In the Ayerwaddy Delta of Myanmar, the groundwater is saline and communities rely on mud lined
rainwater ponds to meet their drinking water needs throughout the dry season. Some of these ponds
are centuries old and are treated with great reverence and respect.
Until 2009 in Colorado, water rights laws restricted rainwater harvesting; a property owner who
captured rainwater was deemed to be stealing it from those who have rights to take water from the
watershed. The main factor in persuading the Colorado Legislature to change the law was a 2007 study
that found that in an average year, 97% of the precipitation that fell in Douglas County, in the southern
suburbs of Denver, never reached a stream—it was used by plants or evaporated on the ground. In Utah
and Washington State, collecting rainwater from the roof is illegal unless the roof owner also owns
water rights on the ground. In New Mexico, rainwater catchment is mandatory for new dwellings in
Santa Fe.[7]