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RAIN WATER HARVESTING

BY:
ADVAIT GHAISAS
SUYASH KUDALE
PRATHAMESH SONAWANE

Reasons of Shortage of Water

Population increase

Industrialization

Urbanization

(a) Increase in per capita utilization

(b) Less peculation area

In places where rain fed/ irrigation based crops are cultivated

through ground water

Decrease in surface area of Lakes, talab, tanks etc.

Reasons of Shortage of Water

Deforestation
(i) Less precipitation

(ii) Absence of Barriers

(a) Rain drops checked by leaves of tree
(b) Water slowly descends through twigs & trunk
(c) Humus acts as reservoir

(d) Tiny creatures helps percolation

1 hectare of forest-6-7 Lac ton of water

(after filtering) top layer can hold 1.2 Lac tons of water

What is the solution ?

Rain water is the ultimate source of fresh water

Potential of rain to meet water demand is tremendous

Rain water harvesting helps to overcome water scarcity

To conserve ground water the aquifers must be recharged with rain

water

Rain water harvesting is the ultimate answer

What is rain water harvesting ? 5

It is the activity of direct collection of rain water

Rain water can be stored for direct use or can be recharged
into the ground water aquifer.
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of
rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to runoff.

Facts

Every year, the water level in the state PUNJAB

goes down by one meter. If this continues, the
state will soon turn into a desert. So it is necessary
to save every drop of water.

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 :-

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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

stram 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.

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.

Advantages

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1. Easy to Maintain: Utilizing the rainwater harvesting system provides

certain advantages to the community. First of all, harvesting rainwater
allows us to better utilize an energy resource. It is important to do so
since drinking water is not easily renewable and it helps in reducing
wastage. Systems for the collection of rainwater are based on simple
technology.

2. Reducing Water Bills: Water collected in the rainwater harvesting

system can be put to use for several non-drinking functions as well. For
many families and small businesses, this leads to a large reduction in
their utilities bill. On an industrial scale, harvesting rainwater can
provide the needed amounts of water for many operations to take
place smoothly without having to deplete the nearby water sources.

3. Suitable for Irrigation: As such, there is little requirement for building

new infrastructure for the rainwater harvesting system. Most rooftops
act as a workable catchment area, which can be linked to the
harvesting system. This also lessens the impact on the environment by
reducing use of fuel based machines.

It also lessens the burden of soil erosion in a number of areas, allowing

the land to thrive once again. In fact, it can also be stored in cisterns
for use during times when water supplies are at an all time low.

4. Reduces Demand on Ground Water: With increase in

population, the demand for water is also continuously
increasing. The end result is that many residential colonies and
industries are extracting ground water to fulfill their daily
demands. This has led to depletion of ground water which has
gone to significant low level in some areas where there is huge
water scarcity.

5. Reduces Floods and Soil Erosion: During rainy season,

rainwater is collected in large storage tanks which also helps in
reducing floods in some low lying areas. Apart from this, it also
helps in reducing soil erosion and contamination of surface
water with pesticides and fertilizers from rainwater run-off which
results in cleaner lakes and ponds.

6. Can be Used for Several Non-drinking Purposes: Rainwater

when collected can be used for several non-drinking functions
including flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden,
washing cars etc. It is unnecessary to use pure drinking water if
all we need to use it for some other purpose rather than
drinking.

Rainwater harvesting provides an independent

water supply during regional water restrictions
and in developed countries is often used to
supplement the main supply. It provides water
when there is a drought, can help mitigate
flooding of low-lying areas, and reduces demand
on wells which may enable ground water levels to
be sustained. It also helps in the availability of
potable water as rainwater is substantially free of
salinity and other salts.

THANKS