Rainwater Harvesting

Std X CBSE
As per NCERT Geography textbook
Contemporary India II
Why?
Economics
Reduces water bills
Reduced water demand - water supply utility saves money on treatment and
pumping
Reduces cost of infrastructure necessary for water supply

Environment
Energy saved no pumping of water to our homes
If water is hard, adding soft rainwater improves water quality
Improves groundwater situation
Reduces demand for water at city/village level

Other
Simple, cost-effective, easy to construct and maintain
Viable in urban and rural areas, slums, low income housing, apartments
Can offset the need for multipurpose river projects
How?
The concept is simple

Collect

Store and use

Recharge
Not new to India

Source: http://blog.shunya.net/shunyas_blog/2008/08/dholavira-a-har.html

Rainwater storage reservoir at Dholavira (Rann of Kutch) Harappan

civilization (2500-1900 BC)
Traditional rainwater harvesting systems

Mountainous rain-shadow regions like Spiti valley

Flood plains to check floods during

monsoons

The Deccan plateau which has only monsoon fed

(no perennial) rivers

Widely prevalent in all parts of India

Traditional rainwater harvesting systems

Mountainous regions with heavy rainfall to check erosion and

to provide water in non-rainy months since water
distribution systems are not easy to install

Desert and arid region , Rajasthan, Rann of Kutch etc.

Widely prevalent in all parts of India

Centuries old Kul irrigation in the Western Himalayan
mountainous rain-shadow regions like Spiti valley

Glacier melt is diverted into the head of a kul or a diversion channel

These kuls channel the water over

many kilometers

They lead into a tank in the village from which water flow is regulated

Source: http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/methods/traditional/kuls.htm Accessed November 2008

Inundation
channel Bengal
Flood plains
Floodwater entered the fields through the inundation canals

The waters brought in rich silt and fish

The fish fed on mosquito larva and helped check malaria in this
region.
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Fields
 Khadins of Jaisalmer
(harvesting structures for agricultural fields)

Designed by the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, in 15th century

Similar system also practised in Ur (Iraq), the Negev desert, and in south west Colorado

An embankment prevents water from flowing away. Collected water seeps into the soil.
This water saturates land, which is then used for growing crops
Johads of
Rajasthan
(provide water for domestic
Earthen or masonry rainwater harvesting structure,
for providing water for domestic use to the communities.
use)

Photo by L R Burdak
 Johads of Rajasthan
(provide water for domestic use)

Photo by Farhad Contractor, taken in Alwar district of Rajasthan

Read about revival of Johads in Reviving Indias water harvesting systems
Tankas of Bikaner, Barmer, Phalodi - Rajast

Pipes from the rooftop lead

rainwater into the tanka
catchment

Note the slope provided for the rainwater

(palar pani) to flow into the tanka
 Tankas for storing drinking water
Thar desert region of Rajasthan (Barmer, Bikaner,
Pallodi)

Unique underground structures of

various shapes and sizes to collect
rain water for drinking purposes

Sometimes used to store drinking

water brought from far off wells in
case the rainwater gets exhausted

Constructed in court yards or in

front of houses and temples,

Built both for individual households

as well as for village communities
 Tankas of Bikaner, Barmer, Phalodi - Rajasth
Main source of drinking water in these areas

People protect and maintain them

Just before the on-set of the monsoon, the catchment area of the Tanka is cleaned up
to remove all possible pollutants

Human activity and grazing of cattle in the area is prohibited

First spell of rain not collected

 Tankas of Bikaner, Barmer, Phalodi - Rajasth
Provide enough drinking water to tide over the water scarcity during the summer
months
even though average annual rainfall is as less as 200 mm to 300 mm.

In many cases the stored water lasts for the whole year.

These simple traditional water harvesting structures are useful even during years of
below-normal rainfall.
 http://twofloatingweeds.blogspot.com http://pashunz.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

Rainwater harvesting in Rajasthan today

Rajasthan Canal (Indira Gandhi Nahar Project) brings water (for agriculture and
domestic use) from the Sutlej and Beas rivers

Rainwater harvesting was on decline

Being revived in many parts of Rajasthan: traditional methods with some

improvisations
For more information, check out
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Improvised.htm000
Deccan Plateau
Then
Water harvested in a system of tanks that
were fed by seasonal streams

Tanks recharged groundwater

Deccan
Plateau

Now
Tanks neglected
No perennial
Many regions facing water scarcity rivers
Importance of rainwater harvesting being realized

Rooftop rainwater harvesting getting a boost

Rainwater harvesting in the
North Eastern states
Mountainous regions with heavy rainfall

http://media-2.web.britannica.com
Uneven distribution of population

Abundant water resources but not tapped due to rugged

terrain

Face water scarcity in areas of high population density

Bamboo drip irrigation
in Meghalaya
 Bamboo drip irrigation in
Meghalaya
200-year-old system

Used by tribal farmers of Khasi and Jaintia hills

Bamboos divert water from perennial springs

on hilltops to the lower reaches by gravity

Used to irrigate the betel leaf or black pepper

crops

18-20 litres of water entering the bamboo pipe

system per minute gets transported over
several
hundred meters and finally gets reduced to 20-
80
drops per minute at the site of the plant.

Attempts made to introduce modern pipe

systems but farmers prefer to use their
indigenous form of irrigation.
For more information on
Rain Water Harvesting Systems
in different regions
Check out http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/eco/eco-region.htm

Read the book Dying wisdom published by the Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE)

Brief notes on some traditional water harvesting structures are available at

Traditional Water Harvesting Structures information sheet on
www.indiawaterportal.org
Rainwater harvesting today

Collection
(Catchment)
Flat / sloping roofs
Transportation: Downtake
pipes

Leaf and grit

filter, First
flush device

Storage in
tanks

Recharge into open wells /

borewells / percolation pits /
trenches
Case studies of interest -
Legislation
Tamil Nadu

Rainwater harvesting made mandatory for all the buildings in the

state

If the rain water harvesting structure is not provided as required,

an authorized person can implement a rain water harvesting
structure and the cost is recovered along with property tax".

Citizens are also warned about disconnection of water supply

connection if rainwater harvesting structures are not provided.

To learn more about policies and legislation (India and abroad),

check out http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Policy/Legislation.htm
Case studies of interest -
Implementation
Karnataka
Gendathur (Karnataka) - a remote village in Mysore district

The first village to have installed a maximum number of rainwater harvesting

systems.

Each of the 200 houses have a rooftop rainwater harvesting system

The Mysore Zilla Panchayat, an NGO (MYRADA) and the villagers worked together

The villagers contributed 20% of the project cost.

The villagers of Gendathur use rainwater for all their everyday needs; they even use
it for drinking and cooking.
 Some people
Chewang Norphel, 62, of Leh, Ladakh.

In Ladakh, the annual average rainfall is 50 mm.

The only source of water are glaciers, which melt in late
summer.

Water shortage felt at the start of the cropping season in early

summer (May to June)
Taps left open in winter, so that water does not freeze in the
pipelines (Water wasted in winter)
Norphel builds artificial glaciers by channelising glacier water
into depressions lying in the shadow area of a mountain, hidden
from sunlight.

He places half-inch-wide iron pipes at the edge of the

depression. As the water keeps collecting in the pipes, it
freezes. As more water seeps in, it pushes out the frozen
blocks, and in turn, itself gets frozen. This keeps happening in a
continuous cycle, and these frozen blocks create a clean,
artificial glacier.

Norphel has made four such glaciers.

To learn more about people who are making a difference,
check out
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/People/People.htm
Want to play
 Divide the class into 5 teams
Team A selects 2 persons who will pick the clue and draw it out on
the board for the other team members to guess.

If the guessers get the right answer in 30 secs, they get 5 points
If the guessers get the right answer in 60 secs, they get 3 points
Otherwise
The chance then goes to Team B and so on.

Rules
No mouthing of words
No names or numbers to be written
No actions
 Turn off the projector now, so that
the whole class cannot see the clues.
The 2 representatives of Team A
can come up to the computer and
see the clue.

Ready?
Round
1
Team A Khadin
Team B Johad
Team C Tanka
Team D Kul
Team E Inundation channel
Round
2
Team A Dholavira
Team B Spiti valley
Team C Rann of Kutch
Team D Deccan Plateau
Team E Jaisalmer
Round
3
Team A Thar
Team B North East India
Team C Bamboo drip irrigation
Team D Indira Gandhi Canal
Team E Gendathur
Round
4
Team A collection
Team B storage
Team C recharge
Team D filter
Team E pipelines