Credit 3.5.

4 Aquifer recharge

Balance treated wastewater and harvested rainwater after indoor and outdoor use to be directed
to wetlands, recharge wells/pits etc. to increase the local aquifer recharge.

Methodology

Natural groundwater recharge occurs as precipitation falls on the land surface, infiltrates into soils,
and moves through pore spaces down to the water table. Natural recharge also can occur as
surface-water leakage from rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands. Artificial recharge can be done
through injection of water through wells. This method often is applied to recharge deep aquifers
where application of water to the land surface are not effective at recharging these aquifers.

As shown in figure Artificial recharge is the practice of increasing the amount of water that enters
an aquifer through human-controlled means. For example, groundwater can be artificially
recharged by redirecting water across the land surface through canals, infiltration basins, or ponds;
adding irrigation furrows or sprinkler systems; or simply injecting water directly into the subsurface
through injection wells.

Month Source Supply Excess treated

water to
discharge /
Harvested AC condense water / Treated Irrigatio Used treated Used water for water used for m3/month)
rainwater / (m3/month) wastewater / n/ grey water for toilet flushing / shower and hand
(m3/month (m3/month) (m3/ AC make up (m3/month) wash will be
) month) water / replaced
(m3/month) /(m3/month)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual

About …….. water annually is used to recharge ground water.

Credit 3.6 – Innovative Water Transmission

Intent-Limit the use of non-renewable energy for water transmission

1. To limit the use of non-renewable energy for water transmission, solar-powered water
pumps will be used to pump water from dirty water to the irrigation system and use
variable speed drives (VSDs) as shown in fig.

2. Overhead water tanks are used for potable water use in the building. The water is
pumped using DC pumps directly from the water head of the solar panel at a rate of approximately
60 m3 and a flow rate of 4.5 m3 / h. small turbines proposed as pressure breakers apply for the
lower levels to drop the water pressure and generate electricity via that.

Energy requirement for pumps

q = flow capacity (m3 /hr) = 4.5 (Daily indoor daily water requirement m3, 16hrs operation)

ρ = density of fluid (kg/m3 ) = 1000

g = acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/s2 ) = 9.81
h = differential head (m) = 65
η = efficiency 0.85
Power (kW) = q ρ g h / (η * 3.6*10^6) = 0.94
Nos operating hours (Hr) =08
Nos of pumps (Nos)= 02
Daily power requirement for water transmission = 15 (kWh)
Solar Requirement

Capacity of the solar PV (kW) = 0.45

Efficiency = 0.85
Nos operating hours per day (Hr) = 20

Daily Energy Production = (kWh)

Therefore, more than half (>50%) of the energy required for water transmission can be obtained
from solar energy

3. As mentioned earlier, the rainwater harvesting tank is placed on one floor below the roof
panel and the water is transmitted by gravity using a roof level overhead tank. Excess rainwater
(overflow from the rainwater tank) is collected in the wastewater and transferred to the collected
underground tank. The same head can be used directly in the drip irrigation system without
providing external energy using rainwater. At other times, treated wastewater is used in solar-
powered booster pumps.