RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Rain Water
Harvesting
Team:
Name Roll no. Reg. no.
Sanyam RG3802A15 11807982
Divyam mittal RG3802A05 11801019
Vicky Bishwas RG3802A24 11811116

Section: G3802
Submitted to: Dr. Ravi Sharma
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS RAIN WATER HARVESTING
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
OBJECTIVES OF RAINWATER
HARVESTING
POTENTIAL AREAS
METHODS OF RAIN WATER
HARVESTING
ADVANTAGES OF RAIN WATER
HARVESTING
DISADVANTAGES OF RAIN WATER
HARVESTING
INITIAL BY THE GOVERNMENT
IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS
HARVESTING CAN BEGIN TODAY

INTRODUCTION
Harvesting Rainwater for saving drinking water
has gained enormously in significance as
modern water saving sanitary technique. This
can be used for private and public buildings as
well as for many industrial areas. Beyond that
rain water harvesting plays an important role
for the rainwater management of housing
estates. Due to shortage and the usage of
rainwater the water flowing off housing estates
is both reduced and delayed.

WHAT IS RAINWATER HARVESTING AND

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Water is our most precious natural resource
and something that most of us take for
granted. We are now increasingly becoming
aware of the importance of water to our
survival and its limited supply.
The harvesting of rainwater simply involves the
collection of water from surfaces on which rain
falls and subsequently storing this water for
later use. Normally water is collected from the
roofs of the buildings and stored in rainwater
tanks. Water can also be collected in the dams
from rain falling on the ground and producing
runoff.

 Rainwater is an important water source in

many areas with significant rainfall but
lacking any kind of conventional, centralised
supply system.
 Rainwater is also a good option in areas
where good quality fresh surface water or
groundwater is lacking.
 It could be used as a supplement to piped
water supply e.g. for toilet flushing, washing
and garden spraying
Potential Areas
 Where ground water levels are declining on
regular basis.
 Where substantial amount of aquifer has
been de-saturated.
 Where availability of ground water is
inadequate in lean months.
 Where due to rapid urbanization,
infiltration of rain water into subsoil has
decreased drastically and recharging of
ground water has diminished

Methods of Rainwater Harvesting

Broadly there are two ways of harvesting

rainwater
1. Surface runoff harvesting
2. Roof top rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is the collection and
storage of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather
than allowing it to run off. These stored waters
are used for various purposes such as
gardening, irrigation etc. Various methods of
rainwater harvesting are described in this
section.
1.1.1 SURFACE RUNOFF HARVESTING
In both urban and rural areas, rainwater flows
away as surface runoff. This runoff could be
caught and used for recharging aquifers by
adopting appropriate methods.
Types of surface RWH systems include:
i. Ground catchments (man-made)
ii.Rock catchments (natural, impervious
outcrops)
iii. Collection of storm water in urbanized
catchments for recharge
1.1.2 ROOF TOP RAINWATER HARVESTING
It is a system of catching rainwater where it
falls. In rooftop harvesting, the roof becomes
the catchments, and the rainwater is collected
from the roof of the house/building. It can
either be stored in a tank or diverted to
artificial recharge system. This method is less
expensive and very effective and if
implemented properly helps in augmenting the
ground water level of the area.
Types of roof top RWH systems include:
 Simple roof water collection system for
households
 Larger systems for educational institutions,
stadiums, airports, and other facilities
 Roof water collection systems for high-rise
buildings in urbanised areas

Components of the roof top rainwater

harvesting
The illustrative design of the basic components
of roof top rainwater harvesting system is given
in the typical schematic diagram shown in Fig.
Fig Components of Roof top Rainwater
harvesting

The system mainly constitutes of following sub

components:
 Catchments
 Transportation
 First flush
 Filter
i. Catchments
The surface that receives rainfall directly is the
catchment of rainwater harvesting system. It
may be terrace, courtyard, or paved or
unpaved open ground. The terrace may be flat
RCC/stone roof or sloping roof. Therefore the
catchment is the area, which actually
contributes rainwater to the harvesting system.

ii. Transportation
Rainwater from rooftop should be carried
through down take water pipes or drains to
storage/harvesting system. Water pipes should
be UV resistant (ISI HDPE/PVC pipes) of
required capacity. Water from sloping roofs
could be caught through gutters and down take
pipe. At terraces, mouth of the each drain
should have wire mesh to restrict floating
material.

iii. First Flush

First flush is a device used to flush off the water
received in first shower. The first shower of
rains needs to be flushed-off to avoid
contaminating storable/rechargeable water by
the probable contaminants of the atmosphere
and the catchment roof. It will also help in
cleaning of silt and other material deposited on
roof during dry seasons Provisions of first rain
separator should be made at outlet of each
drainpipe.

iv.Filter
There is always some skepticism regarding
Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting since doubts are
raised that rainwater may contaminate
groundwater. There is remote possibility of this
fear coming true if proper filter mechanism is
not adopted. Secondly all care must be taken
to see that underground sewer drains are not
punctured and no leakage is taking place in
close vicinity. Filters are used fro treatment of
water to effectively remove turbidity, colour
and microorganisms. After first flushing of
rainfall, water should pass through filters.
A gravel, sand and ‘netlon’ mesh filter is
designed and placed on top of thestorage tank.
This filter is very important in keeping the
rainwater in the storage tankclean. It removes
silt, dust, leaves and other organic matter from
entering the storage tank. The filter media
should be cleaned daily after every rainfall
event. Clogged filters prevent rainwater from
easily entering the storage tank and the filter
may overflow. The sand or gravel media should
be taken out and washed before it is replaced
in the filter.
A typical photograph of filter is shown in Fig 2.

Fig 2: Photograph of typical filter

There are different types of filters in practice,
but basic function is to purify water. Different
types of filters are described in this section.

a) Sand Gravel Filter

These are commonly used filters, constructed
by brick masonry and filleted by pebbles,
gravel, and sand as shown in the figure. Each
layer should be separated by wire mesh. A
typical figure of Sand Gravel Filter is shown in
Fig 3.
Fig 3: Sand Gravel Filter

b) Charcoal Filter
Charcoal filter can be made in-situ or in a drum.
Pebbles, gravel, sand and charcoal as shown in
the figure should fill the drum or chamber. Each
layer should be separated by wire mesh. Thin
layer of charcoal is used to absorb odor if any.
A schematic diagram of Charcoal filter is
indicated.

.
Fig 4: Charcoal Filter

c) PVC –Pipe filter

This filter can be made by PVC pipe of 1 to 1.20
m length; Diameter of pipe depends on the
area of roof. Six inches dia. pipe is enough for a
1500 Sq. Ft. roof and 8 inches dia. pipe should
be used for roofs more then 1500 Sq. Ft. Pipe is
divided into three compartments by wire mesh.
Each component should be filled with gravel
and sand alternatively as shown in the figure. A
layer of charcoal could also be inserted
between two layers. Both ends of filter should
have reduce of required size to connect inlet
and outlet. This filter could be placed
horizontally or vertically in the system. A
schematic pipe filter is shown in Fig 5.

Fig 5: PVC-Pipe filter

d) Sponge Filter
It is a simple filter made from PVC drum having
a layer of sponge in the middle of drum. It is
the easiest and cheapest form filter, suitable
for residential units. A typical figure of sponge
filter is shown in Fig 6.
Fig 6: Sponge Filter

Methods of roof top rainwater harvesting

Various methods of using roof top rainwater

harvesting are illustrated in this section.
a) Storage of Direct Use
In this method rain water collected from the
roof of the building is diverted to a storage
tank. The storage tank has to be designed
according to the water requirements, rainfall
and catchment availability. Each drainpipe
should have mesh filter at mouth and first flush
device followed by filtration system before
connecting to the storage tank. It is advisable
that each tank should have excess water over
flow system.
Excess water could be diverted to recharge
system. Water from storage tank can be used
for secondary purposes such as washing and
gardening etc. This is the most cost effective
way of rainwater harvesting. The main
advantage of collecting and using the rainwater
during rainy season is not only to save water
from conventional sources, but also to save
energy incurred on transportation and
distribution of water at the doorstep. This also
conserves groundwater, if it is being extracted
to meet the demand when rains are on. A
typical fig of storage tank is shown in Fig

Fig. A storage tank on a platform painted

white

b) Recharging ground water aquifers

Ground water aquifers can be recharged by
various kinds of structures to ensure
percolation of rainwater in the ground instead
of draining away from the surface. Commonly
used recharging methods are:-

 Recharging of bore wells

 Recharging of dug wells.
 Recharge pits
 Recharge Trenches
 Soak ways or Recharge Shafts
 Percolation Tanks

c) Recharging of bore wells

Rainwater collected from rooftop of the building
is diverted through drainpipes to settlement or
filtration tank. After settlement filtered water is
diverted to bore wells to recharge deep
aquifers. Abandoned bore wells can also be
used for recharge.
Optimum capacity of settlement tank/filtration
tank can be designed on the basis of area of
catchment, intensity of rainfall and recharge
rate. While recharging, entry of floating matter
and silt should be restricted because it may
clog the recharge structure. First one or two
shower should be flushed out through rain
separator to avoid contamination. A schematic
diagram of filtration tank recharging to bore
well is indicated in Fig 8.

Fig 8: Filtration tank recharging to bore

well
Advantages of Rainwater Harvesting

 No land is wasted for storage purpose and

no population displacement is involved.
 Rainwater can be used at homes for non
drinking purposes.
 Suitable for Irrigation
 Effects rise in ground water levels.
 Reduces Floods hazards and Soil Erosion.
 Mitigrates effects of droughts.

DISADVANTAGES OF RAINWATER
HARVESTING
 Unpredictable Rainfall: All places do not
receive the same amount of rainfall. It is
also difficult to predict rainfall. Therefore it
is not advisable to depend on rainwater
alone for all your water needs in areas
where there is less rainfall.
 Regular Maintenance: rainwater harvesting
system are prone to rodents, mosquitoes,
algae growth and insects which
contaminate the harvested water.
 They can become a breeding grounds for
many animals if they are not properly
maintained.
 Storage limits: one of the biggest
disadvantages of rain water harvesting is
storage facility, it is restricted not only by
the size but also by time.

Initials by the Government

 The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA)

has made rain water harvesting mandatory
in all institutions and residential colonies.
 Since June 2001, rain water harvesting is
mandatory in all buildings with a roof area
of more than 100 sq.m.
 CGWA has also banned drilling of tubewells
in notified areas (south Delhi and south-
west Delhi).

Implementation of laws
  Building plans are not sanctioned unless the
provision is provided.
 MCD representatives undertake a site
inspection before issue of completion
certificate to the building.
 Central Ground Water Board has
undertaken a study of critical groundwater
of the city.
 All building/plots willing to drill boreholes in
the premises need prior permission from
CGWB.
 Government is also giving the 50% subsidy
for rainwater harvesting project.
Harvesting can begin today

 Rainwater harvesting is something that

thousands of families across the world
participate in, and you could be the next to
enjoy the multitude of benefits offered with
rainwater harvesting.
 It is an easy, simple and worthwhile
process, so it is only in your best interest to
take a look at rainwater harvesting and its
benefits to your home.
 HOW MUCH WATER CAN A RAINWATER
HARVESTING SYSTEM SAVE?

In a domestic house system, you can save

up to 50% of your water consumption,
although we feel it is more likely to be 40%.
This will depend on peoples’ habits and
usages but you can break it down as
follows:
 Toilet flushing = 25%
 Garden and car washing = 5%
 Clothes washing = 10%
 Total = 40%
 It will also depend on how efficient the
system is, which is determined by the
volume of water collected, the frequency of
rainfall and the usage in the property. The
tank size will also impact this. Let’s look at
2 examples to see how it can vary from
property to property.