Water conservation Our ancient religious texts and epics give a good insight into the water storage

and conservation systems that prevailed in those days. Over the years rising populations, growing industrialization, and expanding agriculture have pushed up the demand for water. Efforts have been made to collect water by building dams and reservoirs and digging wells; some countries have also tried to recycle and desalinate (remove salts) water. Water conservation has become the need of the day. The idea of ground water recharging by harvesting rainwater is gaining importance in many cities. In the forests, water seeps gently into the ground as vegetation breaks the fall. This groundwater in turn feeds wells, lakes, and rivers. Protecting forests means protecting water 'catchments'. In ancient India, people believed that forests were the 'mothers' of rivers and worshipped the sources of these water bodies. Some ancient Indian methods of water conservation The Indus Valley Civilization, that flourished along the banks of the river Indus and other parts of western and northern India about 5,000 years ago, had one of the most sophisticated urban water supply and sewage systems in the world. The fact that the people were well acquainted with hygiene can be seen from the covered drains running beneath the streets of the ruins at both Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Another very good example is the well-planned city of Dholavira, on Khadir Bet, a low plateau in the Rann in Gujarat. One of the oldest water harvesting systems is found about 130 km from Pune along Naneghat in the Western Ghats. A large number of tanks were cut in the rocks to provide drinking water to tradesmen who used to travel along this ancient trade route. Each fort in the area had its own water harvesting and storage system in the form of rock-cut cisterns, ponds, tanks and wells that are still in use today. A large number of forts like Raigad had tanks that supplied water. In ancient times, houses in parts of western Rajasthan were built so that each had a rooftop water harvesting system. Rainwater from these rooftops was directed into underground tanks. This system can be seen even today in all the forts, palaces and houses of the region. Underground baked earthen pipes and tunnels to maintain the flow of water and to transport it to distant places, are still functional at Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh, Golkunda and Bijapur in Karnataka, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Rainwater harvesting

In urban areas, the construction of houses, footpaths and roads has left little exposed earth for water to soak in. In parts of the rural areas of India, floodwater quickly flows to the rivers, which then dry up soon after the rains stop. If this water can be held back, it can seep into the ground and recharge the groundwater supply. This has become a very popular method of conserving water especially in the urban areas. Rainwater harvesting essentially means collecting rainwater on the roofs of building and storing it underground for later use. Not only does this recharging arrest groundwater depletion, it also raises the declining water table and can help augment water supply.

Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharging are becoming very important issues. It is essential to stop the decline in groundwater levels, arrest seawater ingress, i.e. prevent seawater from moving landlord, and conserve surface water run-off during the rainy season. Town planners and civic authority in many cities in India are introducing bylaws making rainwater-harvesting compulsory in all new structures. No water or sewage connection would be given if a new building did not have provisions for rainwater harvesting. Such rules should also be implemented in all the other cities to ensure a rise in the groundwater level. Realizing the importance of recharging groundwater, the CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) is taking steps to encourage it through rainwater harvesting in the capital and elsewhere. A number of government buildings have been asked to go in for water harvesting in Delhi and other cities of India. All you need for a water harvesting system is rain, and a place to collect it! Typically, rain is collected on rooftops and other surfaces, and the water is carried down to where it can be used immediately or stored. You can direct water run-off from this surface to plants, trees or lawns or even to the aquifer.Some of the benefits of rainwater harvesting are as follows: Increases water availability Checks the declining water table Is environmentally friendly Improves the quality of groundwater through the dilution of fluoride, nitrate, and salinity Prevents soil erosion and flooding especially in urban area What is Rainwater Harvesting? Rainwater Harvesting is a way to capture the rain water when it rains, store that water above ground or charge the underground and use it later. This happens naturally in open rural areas. But in congested, over-paved metropolitan cities, we need to create methods to capture the rainwater.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE TO GROUND WATER WHAT IS RAIN WATER HARVESTING : The principle of collecting and using precipitation from a catchments surface. 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. ARTIFICAL RECHARGE TO GROUND WATER : 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.

WHY RAINWATER HARVESTING: Rainwater harvesting is essential because: 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.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES:

There are two main techniques of rainwater harvesting. Storage of rainwater on surface for future use. Recharge to ground water.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING AND STORAGE SYSTEM

at Solar Haven DESIGN - EQUIPMENT - COSTS - RESOURCES
Wells in our area of the desert near Tucson, Arizona average nearly 1000 feet deep. This is also "historical" water which will never be replaced. At today's prices, a well would cost in the neighborhood of $25,000 -- far in excess of our budget. Ever since we visited New Zealand almost 20 years ago, we have thought about catching and storing the rain from our roof. There we found New Zealanders, rich or poor, collected the rain from their roofs and stored it in barrels or water tanks. Wells were the exception rather than the rule, municipal water system almost non-existent. Why not do the same thing in our part of the Sonoran Desert where rainfall averages about 12 inches per year? Initially we used a 2500 gallon polyethylene storage tank to store the rain water from the greenhouse and trailer roofs. Now the roof of the new straw bale house also has collection gutters and pipes and a 15' above-ground swimming pool to add to our storage capacity. This is usually kept covered to keep the water from

getting dirty and to avoid evaporation -- which is significant in the dry Arizona climate. We have a standard pressure tank and a 1/2 horse power jet pump to bring water from the tank(s) and maintain constant water pressure in the house. Below Mindy is connecting the pipe from one roof collection point between our mobile home and the greenhouse to the poly storage tank. This system worked very well for three years, but the mobile home then had to be removed because of zoning restrictions.

Now all roof surfaces of the new straw bale house are guttered and piped in to the existing pipes running to the storage tank from the roof of the greenhouse. Pipes running vertically to the ground are "roof washers" -- see the section further on about these..

Note the rain water gushing into our tank from the catchment pipes during a storm. The green material is a synthetic pad for an evaporative cooler (three layers) which we are using to filter out any of the more course particles of dirt or other debris which may have gotten past the roof washers. There is an additional filter for the finer particles located between the storage tank and the jet pump.

We have over 3000 square feet of roof surface to collect rain water between the greenhouse and new straw bale house. TO FIGURE HOW MUCH WATER IS COLLECTED: approximately 600 gallons of rain water is collected for every 1000 square foot of collection area for one inch of rain. Thus one inch of rain produces about 1800 gallons of water and comes close to filling the storage tank. The new above-ground storage pool will hold about 4500 gallons.

(Fortunately our "puppy" doesn't like to swim, but he was delighted with his new drinking bowl.)

"Roof Washing System"

Roofs get dirty, and the first water caught off the roof is likely to be dirty as well. A simple system to divert this water and discard it (or run it to the garden) rather than letting it go into the storage tank is used. Once the roof washer tube is full (see diagram), water from the roof is free to continue on down the gutter to the storage tank.