Rain-water harvesting and artificial recharge of ground water

Document Sample
Rain-water harvesting and artificial recharge of ground water Powered By Docstoc
					Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com)
  Website/Blog: http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com

                      PARTHA DAS SHARMA                    1
Water harvesting can be traced back through human history almost as far as
the origins of agriculture.
Water harvesting is defined as the redirection and productive use of rainfall.

                                PARTHA DAS SHARMA                                2
Rain is the ultimate source of fresh water.
With the ground area around houses and buildings being
cemented, particularly in cities and towns, rainwater, which
areas and not percolating into the soil.
Thereby, precious rainwater is squandered, as it is drained
into the sea eventually.
Rain water harvesting is a system by which, the rainwater that
collects on the roofs and the area around the buildings is
directed into open wells through a filter tank or into a
percolation chamber , built specifically for this purpose.
Rainwater is collected directly or recharged into the ground to
improve ground water storage.
Water that is not extracted from ground during rainy days is
the water saved.

                       PARTHA DAS SHARMA                      3
   Major parts of our country have been facing continuous failure
   of monsoon and consequent deficit of rainfall over the last few
   Also, due to ever increasing population, the use of ground
   water has increased drastically leading to constant depletion
   of ground water level causing the wells and tubewells to dry
   In some places, excessive heat waves during summer create
   a situation similar to drought.
   It is imperative to take adequate measures to meet the
   drinking water needs of the people in the country besides
   irrigation and domestic needs.

Out of 8760 hours in a year, most of the rain in India falls in just 100 hours.

                                PARTHA DAS SHARMA                                 5

      Rainwater can be harvested in a variety of ways:
1.    Directly from roof tops and stored in tanks.
2.    Monsoon run off and water in swollen streams during the
      Monsoon and storing it in underground tanks.
3.    Water from flooded rivers can be stored in small ponds.

      There are basically two models associated with Rainwater
1.    Urban model
2.    Rural model

Urban model: This method mainly insists on directly harvesting water from roof tops.

                                  PARTHA DAS SHARMA                                6
The schematic diagram of Urban Model

                PARTHA DAS SHARMA      8
Rooftop Rainwater HarvestingSystems
  In domestic Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Systems rainwater from
  the house roof is collected in a storage vessel or tank for use during
  the periods of scarcity.
  Usually these systems are designed to support the drinking and
  cooking needs of the family at the doorstep.
  Such a system usually comprises a roof, a storage tank and
  In addition, a first flush system to divert the dirty water which
  contains roof debris collected on the roof during non-rainy periods
  and a filter unit to remove debris and contaminants before water
  enters the storage tank are also provided.
  Roof catchments
  Down pipe and first flush pipe
  Filter unit
  Storage tank
  Collection pit

                             PARTHA DAS SHARMA                         10
Roof Catchments: The roof of the house is used as the catchments for
collecting the rainwater. Roofs made of corrugated iron sheet, asbestos
sheet, tiles or concrete can be utilized as such for harvesting the
rainwater. But thatched roofs are not suitable as it gives some colour to
water and also the water carries pieces of roof material.

Gutters: Gutters are channels fixed to the edges of roof all around to
collect and transport the rainwater from the roof to the storage tank.
Gutters can be prepared in semi-circular and rectangular shapes as
shown in figures. Locally available material such as plain galvanized
iron sheet can be easily folded to required shapes to prepare semi-
circular and rectangular gutters. Semi-circular gutters of PVC material
can be readily prepared by cutting the PVC pipes into two equal semi-
circular channels. Bamboo poles can also be used.

Down-pipe: Down pipe is the pipe, which carries the rainwater from the
gutters to the storage tank. Down pipe is joined with the gutters at one
end, and the other end is connected to the filter unit of the storage tank.
PVC or GI pipes of diameter 50 mm to 75 mm are commonly used for

                            PARTHA DAS SHARMA                             11
First Flush Pipe:
   Debris, dirt and dust collect on the roofs during non-rainy periods.
   When the first rains arrive, this unwanted material will be washed
   into the storage tank.
   This causes contamination of water collected in the storage tank
   thereby rendering it unfit for drinking and cooking purposes.
   Therefore, a first flush system is incorporated to dispose off the
   water from ‘first rain’ so that it does not enter the tank.
   There are two such simple systems.
   One is based on a simple manually operated arrangement, where
   by, the down pipe is moved away from the tank inlet and replaced
   again once the first flush water has been disposed.
   In another simple and semi-automatic system, a separate vertical
   pipe is fixed to the down pipe with a valve provided below the "T"
   After the first rain is washed out through first flush pipe, the valve is
   closed to allow the water to enter the down pipe and reach the
   storage tank.

                                PARTHA DAS SHARMA                              12
Filter Unit:
    The filter unit is a container or chamber filled with filter media such as
    coarse sand, charcoal, coconut fiber, pebbles and gravels to remove the
    debris and dirt from water that enters the tank.
    The container is provided with a perforated bottom to allow the passage of
    water. The filter unit is placed over the storage tank.
    Commonly used filters are of two types.
    One is a ferro-cement filter unit, which is comparatively heavy and the other
    is made of either aluminium or plastic bucket.
    The latter is readily available in market and has the advantage of ease in
    removing, cleaning and replacing.
    Another simple way of filtering the debris and dust particles that came from
    the roof along with rainwater is to use a fine cloth as filter media.
    The cloth, in 2 or 3 layers, can be tied to the top of a bucket or vessel with
    perforations at the bottom.
Storage Tank:
   Storage tank is used to store the water that is collected form the Rooftops.
   Common vessels used for small scale water storage are plastic bowls,
   buckets, jerry cans, clay or ceramic jars, cement jars, old oil drums etc.
   For storing larger quantities of water the system will usually require a bigger
   tank with sufficient strength and durability.

                                 PARTHA DAS SHARMA                               13
Collection Pit:
  A small pit is dug in the ground, beneath the tap of
  the storage tank and constructed in brick masonry to
  make a chamber, so that a vessel could be
  conveniently placed beneath the tap for collecting
  water from the storage tank.
  A small hole is left at the bottom of the chamber, to
  allow the excess water to drain-out without
  stagnation. Size of collection pit shall be 60 cm x 60
  cm x 60 cm.

                      PARTHA DAS SHARMA                14
Rural model
 It is quite similar to urban model but has few more methods used
 to store water either for agricultural purpose or for domestic use.
 In rural areas, houses have usually inclined roof made up of
 asbestos sheets, bricks or cemented sheets.
 Thus water from the roof comes to the edges easily and is
 collected using channels fitted and is brought to storage tank
 through PVC pipes.
 The storage tank is made up of ferrocement.
 Cloth is the material used as filter to clean out the water from the
 This type of tank stores enough water for drinking needs of a five
 member family for a month.

                          PARTHA DAS SHARMA                         16

Prevents water wastage by arresting run off.
Prevents soil erosion and mitigates flood.
Sustains and safeguards existing water table
through recharge.
Increases water availability and improves
water quality.
Arrests sea-water intrusion and prevents
salination of ground water.

                PARTHA DAS SHARMA              19
Collection of rainwater
 The quantity of rainwater that can be harvested from
 a roof area of 1000 sq. ft for 100 mm of average
 annual rainfall and with a surface run off coefficient
 of 0.6 would be : 0.1 x 100 x 0.6 x 0.9295 = 5.577
 m³ or 5570 litres /annum.
 100 mm of rain falling on 1 hectare of land means 1
 million litres of water.
 Even if 50 % of this water is collected, it can provide
 15 litres of water/day to 91 persons for a whole year.

                     PARTHA DAS SHARMA                 20

 Ground water exploitation is inevitable is Urban areas.
 But the groundwater potential is getting reduced due to urbanisation
 resulting in over exploitation.
 Hence, a strategy to implement the groundwater recharge, in a
 major way need to be launched with concerted efforts.
 To build up the water table and make the groundwater resource, a
 reliable and sustainable source for supplementing water supply
 needs of the urban dwellers.
 Recharge of groundwater through storm run off and roof top water
 grounds, parks and other vacant places are to be implemented.

                          PARTHA DAS SHARMA                         21
 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 an 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.

                            PARTHA DAS SHARMA                             22

Description: Water harvesting can be traced back through human history almost as far as the origins of agriculture. Water harvesting is defined as the redirection and productive use of rainfall.