Rain Water Harvesting System

Shortage of potable water supply in urban areas isprepare semi-circular and rectangular gutters.
one of the main problems which is being faced by allSemi-circular gutters of PVC material can be readily
countries including developed countries of the world.prepared by cutting the PVC pipes into two equal
Human beings can not survive without water evensemi-circular channels.
for a day. The underground water is depleting day byBamboo poles can also be used for making gutters if
day everywhere, whereas population of urban areasthey are locally available in sufficient quantity. Use of
is increasing at alarming rate, mainly, due to migrationsuch locally available materials reduce the over all cost
of population from rural areas to urban areas andof the system.
hence increasing the demand of water. In urban2. Storm Water Recharging Through Open Drains
areas, the charging of underground water in naturalIn urban areas natural way rain water harvesting
way like rural areas is not taking place due to largeoccurs only in areas left out for open spaces and
sprawl of urban settlements.parks. In the new areas which are being developed
Moreover, due to non charging of rain water duringby the Urban Development Authorities / Civic bodies,
rainy season, the urban areas are causing heavythe storm water is disposed off through underground
floods. These floods destroy urban infrastructure andchannels of sewer lines, thus leaving no scope for
crops of suburban areas every year during rainyrecharging of this rain water into the earth.
season. Hence, there is a necessity to propagateThe Haryana Government has made a step forward
harvesting of rain water in urban areas.in this direction by making necessary provisions in the
Rain Water Harvesting Techniques:-Building Bye Laws enacted under the Punjab
In Urban areas rain water harvesting can be dividedScheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restrictions of
into two categories as described below.Unregulated Development Rules 1963. The said Rules
1. Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting:-are described as below.
The rooftop rain water harvesting system requires• The system of collection, conveyance and
four elements i.e. a catch-ment area, (ii) conduits, (iii)dispersion of rain water for harvesting shall be made
settlement tank and (iv) recharge or storage facility.in such a manner that only clear water is able to
For rain water harvesting system, a dried bore well,enter. No contaminated / waste water from the
an underground tank or soak pit are required alongbuilding or surrounding areas should find its way into
with conduits or the pipes carrying rain water fromthe system.
the catchment or roof tops to harvesting/storage• The entry points of the rain water for
system.harvesting shall be designed in such a manner that in
• Roof Catchment:normal days these remain covered. Arrangement of
The roof of the house is used as the catchment forsegregation of the rain water from the first shower
collecting the rainwater. The style, construction and(containing the wash water) should also be provided.
material of the roof effect its suitability as a• The arrangement for quick filtration of rain
catchment. Roofs made of corrugated iron sheet,water shall also be made in the rain water harvesting
asbestos sheet, tiles or concrete can be utilized aswell/tube-well, so that the rain water does not pollute
such for harvesting the rainwater. But thatched roofsor choke the strata.
are not suitable as it gives some colour to water and• The complete system of rain water
also the water carries pieces of roof material (suchharvesting will be constructed within the area of the
as palm leaves).plot, defined in the zoning plan for the plot.
• Gutters:• The recharge well shall be located at a
Gutters are channels fixed to the edges of roof alldistance of not less than ten meters away from any
around to collect and transport the rainwater fromstructure handling sewage or industrial waste water
the roof to the storage tank. Gutters can be(such as septic tank or effluent treatment plant). This
prepared in semi-circular and rectangular shapes.minimum distance of ten meters will not be applicable
Locally, available material such as plain galvanized ironto manholes or sewer lines although it will be ensured
sheet can be easily folded to required shapes tothat they are leak proof.