Rainwater Harvesting

Some Facts about Water

• Only 2.5% of the world’s water is freshwater and most of this are in the form of
polar ice-caps.
• Water use has increased by 70% since 1970
• A recent report by Credit Suisse stated that by 2025 18 countries
will experience water demand beyond supply capabilities
• It takes up to 5000 lt of water to produce 1kg of rice.
• Every square mile of developed land causes 16 million gallons of rain
water to directly enter the rivers on a rainy day!
• Each person uses about 150 litres of water every day. About 60
litres of this is for toilet flushing
• Toilet flushing is the single largest user of household water, 30- 40%, up
to 90% for offices.
 What is Waterharvesting??

• Water harvesting is the capture, diversion, and

storage of water obtained from different freshwater
sources for plant irrigation, domestic purposes,
industrial purposes, groundwater recharge and
other uses.
 Rainwater harvesting [RWH]
• It is a type of water harvesting.
• It can be defined as the system of collection and
concentration of rain water and its run off and its
productive use for :-
a) Irrigation of annual crops pastures and trees.
b) Domestic and livestock consumption.
c) Groundwater recharge.
 Need For Rainwater Harvesting
• Major parts of our country have been facing continuous failure of
monsoon and consequent deficit of rainfall over the last few years.
• Also, due to ever increasing population of India, the use of ground
water has increased drastically leading to constant depletion of ground
water level causing the wells and tube wells to dry up.
• In some places, excessive heat waves during summer create a
situation similar to drought.
• It is imperative to take adequate measures to meet the drinking water
needs of the people in the country besides irrigation and domestic
needs.
• Out of 8760 hours in a year, most of the rain in India falls in just 100
hours.
Rainwater can be harvested in a variety of ways:
Rainwater can be harvested in a variety of ways:
• Directly from roof tops and stored in tanks.
• Monsoon run off and water in swollen streams
during the monsoon and storing it in
underground tanks.
• Water from flooded rivers can be stored in small ponds.
• Collection and transfer of rainwater into percolation
tanks so as to facilitate discharge into ground.
 Components of RWH

Catchment

Delivery

Storage
 Models of RWH
There are two main models of rainwater
harvesting done in India:-

• RURAL MODEL.
• URBAN MODEL.
 Rural model of RWH
• Rural areas generally use traditional methods of rainwater
harvesting.
• Main motive of rainwater harvesting in these areas is to
facilitate irrigation for agriculture and use of water for
domestic and drinking purposes.
• Nowadays practices are also been followed to as to
recharge groundwater levels.
• Many of the traditional structures include Tankas, Nadis,
Talabs, Bavdis, Rapats, Kuis, Virdas, Kunds, Khadins, Johads
etc.
 Bawodi Kunds

Traditional step wells Covered underground tank,

are called vavadi in developed primarily for
Gujarat, or baoris or tackling drinking water
bavadis in Rajasthan problems.
and northern India.
Khadin Bund
 Urban Model of RWH
• More modernized system of rainwater
harvesting.
• The main components of the urban model are:-
a) Roof catchment
b) Gutters
c) Down pipe
d) First flush pipe
e) Filter unit
f) Storage tank
g) Collection pit.
Componentsof Urban RWH models

Storage Tank Pipe System

Advantages
• RWH provides a good supplement to other water sources
thus relieving pressure on other water sources.
• It can supply as a buffer and can be used in times of
emergency or breakdown of public water supply systems.
• Helps reduce the storm drainage load and flooding in the
cities.
• It is a flexible technology and can be built to require meets
of any range. Also the construction, operation and
maintenance is not very labour intensive in most systems.
 Advantages
• Prevents water wastage by arresting run off as well as prevents soil
erosion and mitigates flood.
• Sustains and safeguards existing water table through recharge.
• Arrests sea-water intrusion and prevents salination of ground water.
• Rainwater harvesting can reduce salt accumulation in the soil
which can be harmful to root growth. W hen rainwater percolates
into the soil, it forces the salts down and away from the root zone
area. This allows for greater root growth and water uptake, which increases
the drought tolerance of plants.
• Rain-water is a clean and pure source of drinking water which requires
minimal chemical treatment as the amount of pollutants are not much.
 Disadvantages
• In terms of complex constructions, there is a requirement for high
costs, trained professionals.
• Maintenance costs may add to the monetary burden.
• If not maintained properly then it can cause various problems in
terms of algal or bacterial growth.
• Tanks if not constructed properly might result in leakages and
metal tanks may also lead to problems such as corrosion harming
the water quality.
• All these factors might prove harmful and result in various kinds of
health issues.
• The system is very much rainfall dependent and hence if there are
problems with the rainfall in the area, it may not be very effective.
 Future of Rainwater Harvesting
• Rainwater harvesting systems serve as an alternative
decentralized water source especially in the age when
groundwater supplies are depleting and municipal water
infrastructures are facing high replacement costs.
• The use of decentralized rainwater harvesting systems is
growing nationally and internationally, especially in
industrial countries like Asia, Europe and the US.
RWH – Methodologies

• Roof Rain Water Harvesting

• Land based Rain Water Harvesting
• Watershed based Rain Water harvesting
• For Urban & Industrial Environment –
• Roof & Land based RWH
• Public, Private, Office & Industrial buildings
• Pavements, Lawns, Gardens & other open spaces
RAIN WATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES :

There are two main techniques of rain water

harvestings.
• Storage of rainwater on surface for future use.
• Recharge to ground water.
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.
• 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.

• Dug wells:- Existing dug wells may

be utilised as recharge structure
and water should pass through filter
media before putting into dug well.
Appropriate Technology

Water conservation
and groundwater
recharge techniques

Water harvesting cum

supplementary
irrigation techniques
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 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.
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.
 Rain Water Harvesting?.
Rain Water Harvesting RWH- process of collecting, conveying &
storing water from rainfall in an area – for beneficial use.
• Storage – in tanks, reservoirs, underground storage-
groundwater
• Hydrological Cycle
Harvesting System
Broadly rainwater can be harvested for two purposes
•Storing rainwater for ready use in containers above or
below ground
•Charged into the soil for withdrawal later (groundwater
recharging)

Source: A Water Harvesting Manual For Urban Areas

 Rain Water Harvesting?
•RWH - yield copious amounts of water. For an average rainfall
of 1,000mm, approximately four million litres of rainwater can be
collected in a year in an acre of land (4,047 m2), post-
evaporation.
• As RWH - neither energy-intensive nor labour-intensive
•It can be a cost-effective alternative to other water-accruing
methods.
•With the water table falling rapidly, & concrete surfaces and
landfill dumps taking the place of water bodies, RWH is the most
reliable solution for augmenting groundwater level to attain self-
sufficiency
 The roof catchment are selectively cleaner
when compared to the ground level catchment

• Losses from roof catchment are

minimum
• Built & Maintained by local communities
• No Chemical contamination
& only required filtration
• Available at door step with least cost
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 Rain water harvesting system
The typical roof top rain water harvesting system comprises

• Roof catchment
• Gutters
• Down pipe & first flushing pipe
• Filter Unit
• Storage Tank

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 RoofCatchment
The roof of the house is used as the
catchment for collecting rain water. 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

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 Gutters
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.
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 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. Bamboo can be also used
wherever available and possible

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 First Flush Pipe
Debris, dust & dirt collect on the roof
during non rainy periods when the first
rain arrive. A first flush system
arrangement is made to avoid the
entering unwanted material into the
Filter media & storage tank. This is a
simple manually operated arrangement
or semi- automatic system with a valve
below the ‘T’ junction
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 Filter Unit
The filter unit is a container or chamber
filled with filter media such as coarse
sand, charcoal, coconut fiber, pebbles
& gravels to remove the debris & dirt
from water that enters the tank. The
filter unit is placed over the storage
tank or separately. It may be of Ferro
cement filter unit, Aluminum, Cement
rings or Plastic bucket etc.
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 Storage Tank
It is used to store the water that is collected from
the roof through filter. For small scale water
storage plastic buckets, jerry cans, clay or
cement jars, ceramic jars, drums may be used.
For larger quantities of water, the system will
require a bigger tank with cylindrical or
rectangular or square in shape constructed with
Ferro cement or cement rings or plain cement
concrete or reinforced cement concrete or brick
or stone etc. The storage tank is provided with a
cover on the top to avoid the contamination of
water from external sources. The storage tank is
provided with pipe fixtures at appropriate places
to draw the water to clean the tank & to dispose
of extra water. A provision for keeping the vessel
to collect the water is to23be made.
 Size of Storage Tank

• Based on
– No. of person in the House hold
– Per capita water requirement
– No. of days for which water is required

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 Water available from Roof

Annual rainfall (in mm) x roof area (in sq. m) x co-

efficient of run off for roof
co-efficient of run off
GI sheet 0.9
Asbestos 0.8
Tiled 0.75
Plaster on bricks/ Concrete 0.7

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Thank You