RAIN WATER

HARVESTING

Booklet by:
D. Pavan Kumar-9494069323
E-Mail: pavannstyle@gmail.com

Need.???
Citizens of Greater Hyderabad continue
to be deprived of even the minimum
liters per capita of water per person per
day of 165 liters (LPCD) a norm set by
the WHO, or 150 LPCD as per the
Central Public
Health
and
Environmental
Engineering
Organization. This translates into 140
liters in cities with underground
drainage as per the Centres benchmark
.Between 1950 and 2009, global water
demand increased 4 times and if the
current trend persists, the demand for
the water could exceed the availability
supply within 30 years.

Rain Water Harvesting

Rainwater
harvesting
is
the
accumulating and storing of rainwater
for reuse before it reaches the aquifer.
Rain water harvesting is a way to
harness more of the Earth's natural
resources, rather than relying on larger
collective water treatment processes for
the entirety of a water supply.
It is the most effective way to
recharge ground water and increase the
ground water table. Rain water
harvesting systems are equipment setups
that people use to collect and distribute
rain water.

How is it done???
RWH has been practiced since a long time
where there was scarcity for drinking water
in places like Rajasthan, North-East regions
of India called Kunds and Bamboo-Drip
irrigation respectively which are slowly
being lost to the modern onslaught.
In the modern society there are many
more vast methods in saving rain water from
Roof top harvesting to Ground water dams.
Harvesting will depend very much on the
nature of the soil viz. clayey, sandy, rocky
etc.
Of lately ground water dams is a latest way
of saving ground water from entering into the
sea.

Components of Rain Water Harvesting

Rain water harvesting system consists of the
following components while installing we
come across the following.
Sand filter
Percolation Pit
Recharge bore pit
Each component has its own design and
specification. These components are used
based on the conditions prevailing in these
areas.

Rooftop Harvesting
Rooftop rainwater is of a good quality as it
falls on clean terraces and is brought down
by the drain pipes called rooftop pipes. Any
overflow from the sump can be led into an
open well, if any, within the premises. Pipes
not directed to the sump can also be led into
the well.

Recharge Well
These are constructed using cement rings
readily available in the market. The diameter
of these rings range from 2.5ft to 6.0ft
depending on the volume of water that is
likely to be ingested into each one of them.
The depth to which these wells are dug
depends on the nature of the soil. They are
left unfilled and are covered with RCC slabs
of suitable thickness to facilitate vehicular
movement on them.

The cost of implementation of rainwater

harvesting systems in a house/flat complex
will depend on the size of the premises,
number and location of the rooftop pipes,
nature of the soil as well as on the
availability of an open well. Secondly,
digging a recharge well in a place where the
soil is reasonably sandy will be less
expensive than in a place where the soil is
clayey.
The cost will vary from Rs. 3000/- for an
independent house to Rs. 30000/- for a flat
complex, where the cost is shared by the
number of flats and will therefore be quite
small.

Cost of Rain Water Harvesting

Precautions & Suggestions

If the well is either dry or contains water of

non-potable quality, avoid using a filter. It is
essential only if the well water is suitable for
drinking and cooking.
A recharge well though it is more
expensive than a recharge pit is definitely a
better rainwater harvesting structure. The
former will take in more water and can also
be desilted easily, whereas a recharge pit will
get clogged very often and will have to be
abandoned.

For more details regarding Rain water

harvesting methods and installation can
be found on the website.
WWW.WATERHYDERABAD.ORG

Ingested water in a recharge well moves to

the source (open or bore well) through the
soil and in the process gets filtered of even
bacteria.

Catch water where it falls