Rain Water Harvesting

Rain Water Harvesting: Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing, of rainwater for reuse, before it reaches the aquifer. It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation, as well as other typical uses given to water. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions can make an important contribution to the availability of drinking water. It can supplement the sub soil water level and increase urban greenery. Water collected from the ground, sometimes from areas which are especially prepared for this purpose, is called Storm water harvesting. In some cases, rainwater may be the only available, or economical, water source. Rainwater harvesting systems can be simple to construct from inexpensive local materials, and are potentially successful in most habitable locations. Roof rainwater can't be of good quality and may require treatment before consumption. As rainwater rushes from your roof it may carry pollutants in it such as the tiniest bit of mercury from coal burning buildings to bird or dog feces. Although some rooftop materials may produce rainwater that is harmful to human health, it can be useful in flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden and washing cars; these uses alone halve the amount of water used by a typical home. Household rainfall catchment systems are appropriate in areas with an average rainfall greater than 200 mm (7.9 in) per year, and no other accessible water sources (Skinner and Cotton, 1992). Overflow from rainwater harvesting tank systems can be used to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge, though this is a related process, it must not be confused with Rainwater harvesting.

There are a number of types of systems to harvest rainwater ranging from very simple to the complex industrial systems. The rate at which water can be collected from either system is dependent on the plan area of the system, its efficiency, and the intensity of rainfall (i.e. annual precipitation (mm per annum) x square meter of catchment area = litres per annum yield) ... a 200 square meter roof catchment catching 1,000mm PA yields 200 kLPA.

Water Conservation:

Important step for solutions to issues of water and environmental conservation is to change people's attitudes and habit.

• Conserve water because it is right thing to do!. 
• What you can do to conserve water?
  Use only as much water as you require. Close the taps well after use. While brushing or other use, do not leave the tap running, open it only when you require it. See that there are no leaking taps.
• Use a washing machine that does not consume too much water. Do not leave the taps running while washing dishes and clothes.
• Install small shower heads to reduce the flow of the water. Water in which the vegetables & fruits have been washed - use to water the flowers & plants.
• At the end of the day if you have water left in your water bottle do not throw it away, pour it over some plants.
• Re-use water as much as possible, Change in attitude & habits for water conservation, Every drop counts!!!

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:

• Provides self-sufficiency to water supply
• Reduces the cost for pumping of ground water
• Provides high quality water, soft and low in minerals
• Improves the quality of ground water through dilution when recharged
• Reduces soil erosion & flooding in urban areas
• The rooftop rain water harvesting is less expensive & easy to construct, operate and maintainIn desert, RWH only relief 
• In saline or coastal areas & Islands, rain water provides good quality water.