WHAT IS IT??

The principle of collecting and using precipitation

from a catchments surface.
The accumulation and storage of rainwater for
reuse before it reaches the aquifer.
Conscious collection and storage of rainwater to
cater to demands of water, for drinking,
domestic purpose & irrigation is termed as
Rainwater Harvesting.

WHY IS IT REQUIRED?
To arrest ground water decline and augment
ground water table
To beneficiate water quality in aquifers
To conserve surface water runoff during
monsoon
To reduce soil erosion
To inculcate a culture of water conservation

REASONS OF SHORTAGE OF WATER

Population increase
Industrialization
Urbanization
(a) Increase in per capita utilization
(b) Less peculation area

In places where rain fed/ irrigation based crops

are cultivated through ground water
Decrease in surface area of Lakes, talab, tanks
etc.

REASONS OF SHORTAGE OF WATER(CONTD)

Deforestation
(i) Less precipitation
(ii) Absence of Barriers
(a) Rain drops checked by leaves of tree
(b) Water slowly descends through twigs & trunk
(c) Humus acts as reservoir
(d) Tiny creatures helps percolation

TECHNIQUES FOR RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Storage of rainwater on surface for future use:
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 are generally used.

STRUCTURES USED FOR RECHARGE

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.
Trenches:-These are constructed when the permeable
stream is available at shallow depth. Trench may be 0.5 to 1
m. wide, 1 to 1.5m. deep and 10 to 20 m. long depending
up availability of water. These are back filled with filter
materials.

STRUCTURES USED FOR RECHARGE:

Dug wells:Existing dug wells may be utilised as recharge
structure and water should pass through filter media
before putting into dug well.

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.

STRUCTURES USED FOR RECHARGE

Recharge wells:Recharge wells of 100 to 300 mm diameter are
generally constructed for recharging the deeper
aquifers and water is passed through filter media to
avoid choking of recharge wells.

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, or a
percolation pond may be constructed.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Roof Catchment:The style construction and material of the roof effect its
suitability as a catchment, Roofs made of corrugated iron
sheet , asbestos sheet, Tiles or Concrete can be utilized for
harvesting the rain water.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Coarse mesh :
at the roof to prevent the passage of debris.

Gutters:
are channels fixed to the edges of roof all around to
collect & transport the rainwater from the roof.
Gutters can be made in semi-circular and rectangular
shape with cement pipe, plain galvanized iron sheet,
PVC pipes, bamboos etc. Use of locally available
material reduce the overall cost of the system.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

First-flushing :
A first flush device is a valve that ensures that runoff
from the first spell of rain is flushed out and does not
enter the system.

Filter :
The filter is used to remove suspended pollutants from
rainwater collected over roof. A filter unit is a
chamber filled with filtering media such as fibre,
coarse sand and gravel layers to remove debris and
dirt from water before it enters the storage tank or
recharge structure. Charcoal can be added for
additional filtration.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Down Pipe:
It is the pipe which carries the rainwater from the
gutters to the filter & storage tank. Down pipe is
joined with the gutters at one end & the other end is
connected to the filter unit of the
storage tank. PVC or GI pipe of
50mm to 75mm (2 to) are
commonly used for down pipe.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Storage facility:
There are various options available for the
construction of these tanks with respect to the shape,
size and the material of construction.
Shape: Cylindrical, rectangular and square.
Material of construction: Reinforced cement
concrete, (RCC), ferrocement, masonry, plastic
(polyethylene) or metal (galvanised iron) sheets are
commonly used.

COMPONENTS OF A RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Recharge structures:
Rainwater may be charged into the groundwater
aquifers through any suitable structures like dug-wells,
bore-wells, recharge trenches and recharge pits.

How much water can be harvested ?

Consider a building with a flat terrace area of 100
sq.m.
Average annual rainfall in most Indian cities is
more than 1100mm
Assuming surface runoff coefficient of 0.6, i.e.
only 60% of rainwater can be effectively utilized,
Volume of water conserved = 0.6 x 100 x 1.1
= 66,000 litres
Assuming 40 litres per capita consumption per
day, this will satisfy the annual water
requirement for a 4 member family

Amount of rainwater that can be

harvested
Water harvesting potential = rainfall in mm collection efficiency

Type of catchment

Co efficient

Roof Catchment
1) Tiles
2) Corrugated metal sheets

0.8 to 0.9
0.7 to 0.9

Ground surface coverings

1) Concrete
2) Brick paving

0.6 to 0.8
0.5 to 0.6

Untreated ground catchment

1) Soil on slopes less than 10 %
2) Rocky natural catchment

0.2 to 0.3
0.2 to 0.5

Approximate Costs

Its not however a very recent

technology

Traditional Rainwater Harvesting

Tankas
Tankas (small tank) are underground tanks, found
traditionally in most Bikaner houses.
They are built in the main house
or in the courtyard
Vav / Bavadi
Traditional stepwells are called vav or vavadi in Gujarat,
or baolis or bavadis in Rajasthan and northern India.
Built by the nobility usually for strategic reasons, they
were simple structures from which everyone could draw
water.

Success Stories
Alwar, Rajasthan
Since 1985, Tarun Bhagat Sangh, headed by Rajendra
Singh (known as jal purush/waterman of India) has
been working in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, focusing
on the revival of Johads, streams and rivers in the area.
With the successful implementation of the programme
today more than 4,500 working Johads dot Alwar and
surrounding districts. (Johad is a concave structure
which collects and stores water throughout the year. It
is used for the drinking purpose by humans and cattle)

Benefits of Artificial Recharge in Urban

Areas
Improvement in infiltration and reduction in
run-off.
Improvement in groundwater levels and
yields.
Reduces strain on Special Village Panchayats/
Municipal / Municipal Corporation water
supply
Improvement in groundwater quality
Estimated quantity of additional recharge
from 100 sq. m. roof top area is 55.000 liters.

Precautionary measures while harvesting rainwater

Roof or terraces uses for harvesting should be clean
Roof should not be painted since most paints contain toxic
substances
Do not store chemicals, rusting iron, manure or detergent on the
roof.
Nesting of birds on the roof should be prevented.
Terraces should not be used for toilets either by human beings or
by pets.
Do not use polluted water to recharge ground water.
Ground water should only be recharged by rainwater.
Before recharging, suitable arrangements of filtering should be
provided.
Filter media should be cleaned before every monsoon season.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

REFERENCES:

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/
http://www.mppcb.nic.in/RWH.htm
http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/rainwater.htm
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/water/rainwater/introduction.h
tml
http://www.rwh.in/