RAINWATER

HARVESTING

 IRWM c.slip. No 10
of dated 17.2.05.
ITRODUCTION
 Rain water Harvesting is the technique of
collection and storage of rain water at
surface or in sub surface aquifer, before it is
lost as surface run-off.

 A major portion of rainwater, run-off from

streams to rivers and finally to the sea, only
an average of 8%of total rainfall recharges
the ground aquifers.
NECESSITY:-

(1) water is one of the most essential

requirement for existence of living beings.

(2) surface water and ground water are

major source of water.
(3) Due to over growth of population and
higher usage level of water in urban
areas, water supply agencies are unable
to cope up of demand with surface
sources like dams, reservoirs,rivers etc.

(4) This has led to digging of tube wells by

individual by house owners and even
water supply agencies also resorted to
tube wells.
(5) Ground water results in lowering of
water table rendering many bore wells
dry. To over come this situation bore wells
are drilled to a greater depths.

(6) In rural areas Govt. policies on

subsidized power supply for agricultural
pumps ,piped water supply through bore
wells are resulting in decline in ground
water level.
Advantages:
1. Promotes adequacy of under ground water.

2.Mitigates the effect of drought, reduces the soil

erosion as surface run-off is reduced.

3.Decreases load on storm water disposal system.

4. Reduces flood hazards. Improves quality/

decreases salinity.
 Improve ground water table ,thus saving
energy (to lift water).

 Storing water under ground is

environment friendly.
LEGISATION
 Under the sec 15 of Environment
(protection) Act 1986 central ground
water authority (ministry of water
resources) has made mandatory to adopt
rain water harvesting system for certain
types of buildings /institutions located in
specified regions of national capital
territory.
 In Chennai-RWH –compulsory.

 In Delhi-building bye lows have been

modified making RWH mandatory for new
buildings erected on plots more then
100sq meter.

 Ministry of Environment &forest (Govt.of

India) has circulated draft Gazette
Nomination regarding RWH in hilly area of
entire country
Importance
 Rain is the primary source of water in
hydrological cycle.

 Rivers, lakes and groundwater are fed by

Rainwater only.

 The total amount of water that received in

the form of rain fall over an area ,is called
the rain water endowment .out of this ,the
amount that can be harvested is called
harvesting potential.
FROM WHERE TO HARVEST RAIN

 Roof tops.

 Paved and un paved areas-open field

,parks ,road and pavements.

 Water bodies.

 Strom water drains

Factors affecting runoff from
catchment
 Rainfall- quantity (data of last 10years)
and pattern (intensity ,duration)

 Catchment's area characteristics-paved or

un paved .
 Estimation of harvesting
potential
 Runoff coefficient—is the ratio of the volume of water that run off a
surface to the volume of rainfall that falls on the surface.

Roof catchment
-tiles 0.80-0.90
-corrugated metal sheets 0.70-0.90
Ground surface coverings
-concrete 0.60-0.80
-brick pavement 0.50-0.60
Untreated ground catchment
-soil on slops less than 10% 0.00-0.30
-rocky natural catchment 0.20-0.50
 Water harvesting potential=rainfall x area
of catchment x run off coefficient x
constant coefficient (0.80)
For example—
If the max. rainfall=258.7mmin a
month,
C.G.I. Roof area 20x5=100 sq.m.
Surface coefficient =0.75
S=RXAXCX0.80
=O.2587X100XO.75 X0.80
=15.522 cu.m/month
i.e.15522 l/month
Under ground water movement
 Naturally only 10-15%of rain water is
charged to ground water ,but artificially it
can be charged upto 50%.

 Porosity- total volume of pore space in any

formation /water retaining capacity of the
stratum.

 Permeability -Water transmitting capacity of

the stratum. It is water flowing per unit cross
sectional area and unit gradient.
Facts…….
 India's total land area is over 300 million
hectares.

 Total no. of villages in India are 587,000.

 If they can harvest the runoff from 200 million

hectares of land, excluding inaccessible forest
areas and high mountains .So every village on
an average has 340 hectares of land.
Facts…...
 So every Village has a rainfall endowment
of 3.75 billion liters of water.

 An enormous and undeniable capacity of

RWH.
 Usage of Rainwater
 Urban scenario
>Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting

 Rural scenario
 From rooftops, stored in tanks or in
artificial wells.
 Capture water from swollen streams
during the monsoon season and store
in various forms of water bodies
 Methods

 Traditional Methods

 Modern Methods
Traditional Methods

• Methods Used in North Eastern States of

India

• Methods Used in Desert Region

In Deserts...
 Modern Methods

• Methods used in Rashtrapati Bhawan

• Recharging wells

• Feeding Back to Water Supply

Rastrapati Bhawan
Roof Top Rainwater
Recharge
Rainwater Recharge
in Rural Areas
Rainwater
Recharge
in Rural
Areas
Contd….
Rain water harvesting at Chennai
Rain water harvesting at Chennai
◦ Methods of recharging subsurface
aquifer
 Through recharge pit
 Recharge through abandoned hand
pump
 Recharge through abandoned well
 Through recharge trench
 Recharge through shaft
 Recharge trench with bore
THROUGH RECHARGE PIT:

Suitable where permeable strata is available

at shallow depth. It is adopted for buildings
having roof area up to100 sq m Recharge pit
of any shape is constructed generally 1-2 m
wide and 2-3 m deep. The pit is filled with
boulders, gravel
RECHARGE THROUGH ABANDONED
HAND PUMP:-

An abandoned hand pump is used for as

recharge structure. It is suitable for Roof top
rain water is fed to the hand pump through
100 mm dia pipe. Water fed in the Rain Water
Harvesting structure should be silt free. Water
from first rain should be diverted to drain
through suitable arrangement. If water is not
clear then filter should be provided.
RECHARGE THROUGH ABANDONED
DUG WELL / OPEN WELL:
A dry / unused dug well can be used as a
recharge structure. It is suitable for buildings
having a roof top area more then 100 sq. m
Recharge water is guided through a pipe of
100 mm to the bottom of the well. Recharge,
water guided should be silt free, otherwise
filter should be provided. Well should be
cleaned periodically and chlorinated to
control bacteriological contamination.
THROUGH RECHARGE TRENCH:
Used where permeable strata is available at
shallow depth. It is suitable for buildings
having roof top area between 200 to 300 sq.
m In this, trench of 0.5-1.0 m wide, 1-1.5 m
deep and of adequate length depending upon
roof top area and soil characteristics should
be constructed and filled with boulders, gravel
and sand. Cleaning of filter media should be
done periodically.
 RECHARGE THROUGH SHAFTS:

Suitable where shallow aquifer is located

below clayey surface. It is used for buildings
having roof top area between 2000-5000 sq.
m Recharge shaft of diameter, 0.5-3 m and
10-15 m deep is excavated mechanically. The
shaft should end in impermeable strata. The
shaft should be filled with boulders, gravel
and sand for filtration of recharge water. Top
sand layer should be cleaned periodically.
Recharge shaft should be constructed 10-15
m away.
RECHARGE TRENCH WITH BORE:-

Used where sub-soil is impervious and large

quantity of roof water/ surface run off is available.
In this, trench is made 1.5-3 m wide and 10- 30
m length depending upon water availability. Wells
of 150-300 mm. dia meter and 3-5 m deep (below
pervious layer) are constructed in the trench. No.
of wells to be dug are decided in accordance to
water availability and rate of ingression.. A suitable
silt chamber is also inserted with grating for water
diverting arrangements.
COMONENTS OF RAIN WATER HARVETING
Thanks