Rain Water Harvesting: by Kashmir Dass Bawa

RAIN WATER HARVESTING
By
KASHMIR DASS BAWA
Every year, the water level in the state

PUNJAB goes down by one metre. If this
continues, the state will soon turn into a
desert. So it is necessary to save every drop
of water.
Every commercial building as well as big
houses in the state must install Rain water
harvesting system to save water, he
appealed.
Harvesting System
Broadly rainwater can be harvested for
two purposes
Storing rainwater for ready use in
containers above or below ground
Charged into the soil for withdrawal later
(groundwater recharging)
Source: A Water Harvesting Manual For Urban Areas
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 :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.
Recharge Shafts :- For recharging the shallow

aquifer which are located below clayey surface,
recharge shafts of 0.5 to 3 m. diameter and 10 to
15 m. deep are constructed and back filled with
boulders, gravels & coarse sand.
Lateral shafts with bore wells :- For recharging the
upper as well as deeper aquifers lateral shafts of
1.5 to 2 m. wide & 10 to 30 m. long depending
upon availability of water with one or two bore
wells are constructed. The lateral shafts is back
filled with boulders, gravels & coarse sand.
Spreading techniques :- When

permeable strata starts from top then
this technique is used. Spread the
water in streams/Nalas by
making check dams, nala bunds,
cement plugs, gabion structures or a
percolation
pond
may
be
constructed.
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.
1
Reasons of Shotrage 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
Humus acts as reservoir
(d) Tiny creatures helps percolation
1 hectare of forest-6-7 Lac ton of water

2
18
(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
3
Why Rain water be harvested

To conserve & augment the storage of
ground water
To reduce water table depletion
To improve the quality of ground
water
To arrest sea water intrusion in coastal
areas
To avoid flood & water stagnation in
urban areas
4
What is rain water harvesting ?

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
Rain Water Harvesting?.

Rain Water Harvesting RWH- process of collecting,
conveying & storing water from rainfall in an area for
beneficial use.
Storage in tanks, reservoirs, underground storagegroundwater
Hydrological Cycle
Rain Water Harvesting?.

RWH - yield copious amounts of water. For an
average rainfall of 1,000mm, approximately four million
litres of rainwater can be collected in a year in an acre
of land (4,047 m2), post-evaporation.
As RWH - neither energy-intensive nor labourintensive
It can be a cost-effective alternative to other wateraccruing methods.
With the water table falling rapidly, & concrete
surfaces and landfill dumps taking the place of water
bodies, RWH is the most reliable solution for
augmenting groundwater level to attain self-sufficiency
RWH Methodologies
Roof Rain Water Harvesting

Land based Rain Water Harvesting
Watershed based Rain Water harvesting
For Urban & Industrial Environment
Roof & Land based RWH
Public, Private, Office & Industrial buildings
Pavements, Lawns, Gardens & other open
spaces
Rain Water Harvesting Advantages

1.Provides self-sufficiency to water supply
2.Reduces the cost for pumping of ground water
3.Provides high quality water, soft and low in minerals
4.Improves the quality of ground water through
dilution when recharged
5.Reduces soil erosion & flooding in urban areas
6.The rooftop rain water harvesting is less expensive
& easy to construct, operate and maintain
7. In desert, RWH only relief
8. In saline or coastal areas & Islands, rain
water provides good quality water
AppropriateTechnology
Waterconservation
andgroundwater
rechargetechniques
Waterharvestingcum
supplementary
irrigationtechniques
The roof catchment are selectively

cleaner when compared to the ground
level catchment
Losses from roof catchment are minimum
Built & Maintained by local communities
No Chemical contamination & only required
filtration
Available at door step with least cost
16
Rain water harvesting system

The typical roof top rain water harvesting system comprises
Roof catchment
Gutters
Down pipe & first flushing pipe
Filter Unit
Storage Tank
17
Roof catchment
The roof of the house is used as the catchment for
collecting rain water. The style construction and
material of the roof effect its suitability as a
catchment, Roofs made of corrugated iron sheet ,
asbestos sheet, Tiles or Concrete can be utilized
for harvesting the rain water
18
Gutters
Gutters are channels fixed to the edges of
roof all around to collect & transport the
rainwater from the roof. Gutters can be
made in semi-circular and rectangular shape
with cement pipe, plain galvanized iron
sheet, PVC pipes, bamboos etc. Use of
locally available material reduce the overall
cost of the system.
19
Down Pipe
It is the pipe which carries the rainwater
from the gutters to the filter & storage tank.
Down pipe is joined with the gutters at one
end & the other end is connected to the
filter unit of the storage tank. PVC or GI
pipe of 50mm to 75mm (2 to) are
commonly used for down pipe. Bamboo can
be also used wherever available and
possible
20
First Flush Pipe

Debris, dust & dirt collect on the roof
during non rainy periods when the first rain
arrive. A first flush system arrangement is
made to avoid the entering unwanted
material into the Filter media & storage
tank. This is a simple manually operated
arrangement or semi-automatic system with
a valve below the T junction
21
Filter Unit
The filter unit is a container or chamber
filled with filter media such as coarse sand,
charcoal, coconut fiber, pebbles & gravels
to remove the debris & dirt from water that
enters the tank. The filter unit is placed over
the storage tank or separately. It may be of
Ferro cement filter unit, Aluminum, Cement
rings or Plastic bucket etc.
22
Storage Tank
It is used to store the water that is collected from the roof
through filter. For small scale water storage plastic
buckets, jerry cans, clay or cement jars, ceramic jars,
drums may be used. For larger quantities of water, the
system will require a bigger tank with cylindrical or
rectangular or square in shape constructed with Ferro
cement or cement rings or plain cement concrete or
reinforced cement concrete or brick or stone etc. The
storage tank is provided with a cover on the top to avoid
the contamination of water from external sources. The
storage tank is provided with pipe fixtures at appropriate
places to draw the water to clean the tank & to dispose of
extra water. A provision for keeping the vessel to collect
23
the water is to be made.
Size of Storage Tank

Based on
No. of person in the House hold
Per capita water requirement
No. of days for which water is required
24
Water available from Roof

Annual rainfall (in mm) x roof area (in sq. m) x coefficient of run off for roof
co-efficient of run off
GI sheet
0.9
Asbestos
0.8
Tiled
0.75
Plaster on bricks/ Concrete
0.7
25
How the problem can be minimized

1 By providing pipe water system with source (electric based)
(a) Surface water
(b) Deep tubewells
2 Recharging stratas through rainwater harvesting

methods
(No. of villages of lower range concentration can be
decreased)
3 Storing rain water for drinking purpose

(a) In areas where electricity problem is more
(b) In areas where concentration is more
In areas where
PWS is uneconomical
(d) In areas where dependable source is not available
36
ATTRIBUTES OF GROUNDWATER :
There is more ground water than surface water
Ground water is less expensive and economic
resource.
Ground water is sustainable and reliable
source of water supply.
Ground water is relatively less vulnerable to
pollution
Ground water is usually of high bacteriological
purity.
Ground water is free of pathogenic organisms.
Ground water needs little treatment before use.

Ground water has no turbidity and colour.
Ground water has distinct health advantage as art
alternative for lower sanitary quality surface water.
Ground water is usually universally available.
Ground water resource can be instantly developed and
used.There is no conveyance losses in ground water
based supplies.
Ground water has low vulnerability to drought.
Ground water is key to life in arid and semi-arid
regions.
Ground water is source of dry weather flow in rivers
and streams.
THANKS

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RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Every year, the water level in the state

Source: A Water Harvesting Manual For Urban Areas

RAIN WATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES :

There are two main techniques of rain water

Recharge to ground water is a new concept of

Trenches:- These are constructed when the

Hand pumps :- The existing hand pumps may be

Recharge Shafts :- For recharging the shallow

Spreading techniques :- When

Reasons of Shortage of Water

In places where rain fed/ irrigation based crops

Reasons of Shotrage of Water

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

What is the solution ?

Why Rain water be harvested

What is rain water harvesting ?

Rain Water Harvesting?.

Rain Water Harvesting?.

Roof Rain Water Harvesting

Rain Water Harvesting Advantages

The roof catchment are selectively

Rain water harvesting system

First Flush Pipe

Size of Storage Tank

Water available from Roof

How the problem can be minimized

2 Recharging stratas through rainwater harvesting

3 Storing rain water for drinking purpose

Ground water needs little treatment before use.

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