I

n the arid lands of Africa, a lot of rainwater is lost as it falls and fows
away. We can harvest a great deal of this water and store it to use when
we need it. The 2 main ways of harvesting rainwater are collecting it from
roofs and collecting surface runoffthe water that fows off land when it
rains.
Harvesting surface runoff
There are many ways to harvest rainwater on the land. Building a runoff
harvesting system is a community project. The community must decide who will
own and operate the water source, what method to use and who will build it.
A rock catchment is another method for harvesting surface
runoff. It can be made wherever there are large rock outcrops.
When rainwater falls on rock most runs off the rock. The rock
catchment system catches and stores runoff water.
Vegetation growing on the
rock is cleared and cracks
are filled up to stop water
sinking in.
Gutters made of flat stones and
cement surround the catchment area.
The gutters catch the runoff water
and channel it to the tank or dam.They
must have an upward slope (gradient)
of at least 3 cm for every 100 cm.
The rock surface from which water is
collected is the catchment area. The size
of the area, the slope and the average
rainfall are used to work out the
expected volume of runoff water. This
sum decides the size of the reservoir*.
The reservoirwater storage placecan be
a tank or a dam. A dam, built across a
natural dip or hollow in the rock, is better
for large catchment areas. A closed brick
or ferrocement tank is smaller but prevents
water being lost through evaporation.
An aqueduct is a channel that
leads water to a lower level
across a gap. If a tank is used,
an aqueduct leads water from
the gutters to the tank.
The catchment area and reservoir must be
cleaned and cracks repaired every season.
Make the water pan in a natural dent or depression or in a small
valley where there is heavy soil, like claysandy soil wont trap water.
One way to collect surface runoff is to build a water pan, a pond
4001,000 m dug in the ground to collect runoff from fields,
roads or luggas (dongas). A small one can be made bigger if needed.
Silt traps in the inlet channel catch
silt (soil and
other matter)
carried in the
runoff water
so less gets
to the pan.
water from
inlet water to
pan
silt
water
Most of the soil dug out of the pan is used to make
the wall or embankment. The wall and bottom are
lined with clay or thick plastic sheeting. To make
the wall strong the soil is compacted (pressed
down), stones are put on the sides and grasses and
shrubs are planted on the wall.
A fence around the
pan keeps livestock
out and keeps small
children safe.
Water flows from the pan to a trough in a
pipe laid through the wall. Troughs can be
made from old tyres or drums cut in half.
Trees reduce evaporation by
screening the pan from hot,
dry winds and providing shade
to keep the water cool.
A shallow channel to direct water
to the pan. It must start at the
highest point, in this case where
the land meets the road. Plants
growing here help to trap soil.
A low wall to carry overflow
to the sides of the pan.
Some of the soil dug out of
the pan is used to make
spillways on either side of
the inflow channel.
Lets harvest water!
A school roofwater harvesting system. Water
from the roof is channelled through gutters to a
storage tank.
Have you noticed the puddles that
form next to roads after even a brief
shower of rain? That is surface
runoff from the road.
Keeping water clean
Even when we have a source of clean water, we
need to keep it clean when
collecting and storing it.
Always use a container
that is clean inside and
out
Do not touch the
water with dirty hands
Do not let things fall
into the water
Keep the storage
container covered
If the container does
not have a tap, use a
clean ladle or scoop
for taking water from it
A rock catchment
in Kajiado collects
enough water to feed
a dam and storage
tanks.
1
2
These are 2 commin methods.
More information
Free handbooks on various harvesting methods can be downloaded from
www.waterforaridlands.com. The Pace Project (www.paceproject.net)
and www.rainwaterharvesting.org have lots of information on ways to
harvest water.