RAIN WATER HARVESTING

CONTENTS
Introduction
Rain water harvesting and its components
Statistics and need for rain water harvesting
Methods opted in rain water harvesting
Case studies
Advantages and disadvantages
Conclusion
 INRODUCTION

Rainwater harvesting means to understand the value of rain and

to make optimum use of rainwater at place where it falls.

Water is the major substance on earth, covering over 70% of

planet surface.

Of the total volume of water, only 2% available is fresh water.

Countries like Israel, Iran, Slovakia, use water about 4-5 times
before disposing off, however, in India it is used only once before
being disposed.

India has only 2.45% of worlds land area, which supports 16% of
world population and has access to only 4% of water. This tiny
water resource is also getting polluted, and hence there is need to
preserve water.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Rain water harvesting means to make optimum use of rain water at
the place where it falls and to conserve it and not allow to drain
away cause floods elsewhere.
COMPONENTS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING

Catchment
Down take of pipes
Filters
Leaf and grit filter
Storage tank

STATISTICS

Annual rainfall over India is computed to be 1170mm ,which is

much higher than the global average of 80mm.
CHIRAPUNJI which is well known for highest rainfall prone area ,
which receives about 11000mm rainfall , suffers from acute
shortage of drinking water due to reasons that rain water is not
harvested and conserved and is allowed to drain away.
 According to world wide distribution of water , the total volume of
water occupied on planet surface is 1,454,703.2 cubic kilo meter.
According to world wide distribution of fresh water, the total
volume occupied on planet surface is 28,253.2 cubic kilo meter .

NEED FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING

Due to over population and higher usage levels of water in urban

areas , water supply agencies are unable to cope up the demand
from surface sources like dams , reservoirs , rivers etc.
Replenishment of ground water is drastically reduced due to
paving of open areas.
To overcome this situation , bore wells are drilled to greater
depths.
 In costal areas Chennai , over exploitation of ground water
resulted in sea water intrusion thereby rendering ground water
bodies saline.
The solution to all these problems is to replenish ground water
bodies with rain water by man made means.

METHODS OPTED IN RAINWATER HARVESTING

Storing rainwater for direct use.

Recharging ground water aquifers from roof top run off .

 Recharging ground water aquifers with runoff from ground area.

CASE STUDY

In thane in the year 2003 rainwater harvesting project was done in

VIKAS complex B wing for 5 buildings 9 storage each.
They had dug 3 borewells and a pit of 6ft x 4ft pit.
So total cost was around Rs.300,000 including piping. Due to this
they have 5000 litres of output in the morning and evening.
So total 10,000 litres per day. So the total 5 building supply per
day was 50,000.
For instant from the year 2003 they recieve 50,000 litres of water
nonstop everyday.
 An example of potential for rainwater harvesting :
Consider a building with flat terrace of 100 sqm. The average annual
rainfall in delhi is approximatley 600mm. In simple terms this means,
if the terrace floor is assumed impermiable, and all the rain that falls
on it is retained without evaporation, then in 1 year there will be
rainwater on the terrace floor to a height of 600mm.
Area of the plot = 100 sqm
Height of annual rainfall =0.6m
Volume of rainfall over the spot = area of plot X height of rainfall
=100 sqm X 0.6m
= 60 cubic metre = 60,000 litres
Assuming that only 60% of rainfall is harvested,
volume of water harvested = 36,000 litres
This volume is about twice the annual drinking water requirment
of a 5 member family.
 ADVANTAGES

Easy to Maintain
Reducing Water Bills
Suitable for Irrigation
Reduces Demand on Ground Water
Reduces Floods and Soil Erosion
Can be Used for Several Non-drinking Purposes

DISADVANTAGES

Unpredictable Rainfall
Initial High Cost
Regular Maintenance
Certain Roof Types may Seep Chemicals or Animal Droppings.

CONCLUSION
Its a fact that we should realize that water harvested is water
produced and make all sincere attempts to harvest rainwater both
at micro and macro levels.
The need of hour is to spread the message of RWH from
neighborhoods to cities and to countries.
This can be achieved by setting up more rain centres across the
length and breadth of this country.
Costal cities both within the country and outside with sandy
beaches, which have a great potential for tapping large quantites
of fresh ground water, will have to broughtounder RWH and make
it mass movement.
It is only fair that we take steps to sustain it, for otherwise we
would be cutting the goose which lays golden eggs.