Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2013 www.ijaser.

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Research article ISSN 2277 – 8442

Identification of suitable locations for rooftop rainwater

harvesting structures
1
Giridhar M.V.S.S, 2Chandra Bose A.S, 3Viswanadh G.K
1
Assistant Prof in Water Resources and Additional Controller of Examinations, J.N.T.U. H, Hyderabad,
2
Lecturer, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Govt. Polytechnic, Warangal – 506 001
3
Professor of Civil engineering and Director Academic and Planning, J.N.T.U. H, Hyderabad
DOI: 10.6080.ijaser. 020200001

Abstract: Roof top rainwater collection is one of the solutions for solving or reducing the problem of
water availability, where there is inadequate groundwater supply and surface sources are either lacking or
insignificant quality. Average annual rainfall in the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
Hyderabad is 821mm with unutilized non-committed surplus monsoon runoff. Ground water levels are
being monitored since 2008 and found to be 25 to 30 m bgl deep in pre-monsoon period and 16 to 19 m bgl
in post-monsoon which indicates the ample scope for artificial recharge of rainwater. Present study deals
with the geomatic approach by employing GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing techniques for identifying sites
for construction of roof top rainwater harvesting structures in the study area by preparing various spatial
maps. To meet the deficit water requirement in the campus through artificial recharge and re-use of ground
water, three recharge structures each with a capacity of 1,00,000 liters and one reuse structure with a
capacity of 2,00,000 liters have been identified using Geomatics.

Key words: Rainwater harvesting, roof top harvesting, recycling of water.

1. Introduction

Urban housing complexes or residential buildings and institutional buildings have large roof area and are
amenable for rainwater harvesting. This practice is in vogue at the individual house hold level in remote
hilly areas with high rainfall and in some semi-arid areas in the plains (IS-15797:2008). The ever more
increasing problems with water excess and its shortage, in various parts of the world, have created
favourable conditions for the development of research on rainwater retrieval and utilization. In many
countries, including some European countries, the demand for potable water is met from the limited sources
of underground sources (Mikkelsen et al. 1999), as well as surface water, which is frequently polluted and
necessitates high financial outlays for its purification. A completely different situation occurs in
neighbouring Germany, where rainwater- usage systems are commonly applied (Herrmann and Schmida
1999) and they constitute a significant source of water used in toilets, as well as for other household needs.
The characteristics of the systems applied for supplying water to sanitary appliances and for land irrigation
or watering, their design ideas and the results achieved are presented in a paper by Zaizen et al. (1999). The
authors stress the high potential of meeting the requirements for reduced-quality rainwater by rainwater
collected, stored and distributed in this way. An actual commercial facility of a much smaller roof area,
2200 m2, equipped with a rainwater-usage system, was studied in terms of its functioning by Chilton et al.
(1999). Annual savings of tap water used for specific purposes reached quite a high level of 450%, thus
enabling a return of investment outlay within several years, for the system installed. The suitable election of
the correctly sized storage tank is particularly significant, because its oversizing does not lead to any

*Corresponding author (e-mail: mvssgiridhar@gmail.com) 101

Received on Nov. 28, 2012; Accepted on Jan. 14, 2013; Published on April. 13, 2013
 Identification of suitable locations for rooftop rainwater harvesting structures

significant increase in the quantity of rainwater utilized, whereas it does increase the cost of system
construction dramatically (Chilton et al. 1999; Słys´ 2006). Gould and Nissen-Petersen (1999) categorized
rainwater harvesting according to the type of catchment surface used and the scale of activity. Advantages
and benefits of rainwater harvesting are numerous (Krishna, 2003). Median rainfall provides for a more
conservative calculation of system sizing than average rainfall. The median value for rainfall is usually
lower than the average value since large rainfall events tend to drive the average value higher. In other
words, the sum of monthly medians is lower than the annual average due to the fact that the arithmetic
average is skewed by high-intensity rainfall events. For planning purposes, median monthly rainfall can be
used to estimate water availability to a reasonable degree of certainty (Krishna, 2001).

The total water requirement to the entire campus is to the tune of 1687m3/day. To meet the entire water
requirement, the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board supplies water to the tune
1000m3/day. The remaining 687 m3/day water requirement is being met through the ten bore wells in the
campus. However, during the summer period, the bore wells yield and Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and
Sewerage Board supply reduce considerably, and this deficit is met by purchasing water through tanker
supply. In this context, it is proposed to meet the above deficit in demand through artificial recharge. The
specific objective of the present study is to identify the sites and assessing the site conditions for constructing
rainwater harvesting structures using Geomatics.

2. Study area

The area selected for present study is the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad,
located in the capital city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India which lies between latitudes 17029’23.5’’ to
17029’50.3’’ North and longitudes 78023’22.9’’ to 78023’41.3’’East. The areal extent of the study area is
89.19Acres. Total existing built-up area within the campus is 53,822.24 m2. The topography of the area is
highly undulating, sloppy and well drained. The slope of the ground in the campus and surrounding areas is
from North West to South East. The area is 594 m to 576m above mean sea level. The campus is underlain
by massive and hard grey and pink granites of Archaean age. The ground water occurs in weathered granite
under unconfined conditions and in joint fractures and fissures in semi confined conditions below the
weathered mantle. Generally, weathered granite is present up to a depth of 15 m followed by hard and pink
granites. Occasional fractures occur down to depth of 100 m bgl. The climate in the study area is semi arid
with an average annual rainfall of 821mm, monsoon rainfall is 591.40 mm and non-monsoon rainfall is
230.30mm. The minimum and maximum temperatures range from 12oC in winter and 43oC respectively.
Daily mean relative humidity is 51%. The highest wind speed 136 km/hr.

3. Methodology

Methodology adopted for the present study consists of several steps. For the preparation of digital
elevation model (DEM), collection of source data like latitude, longitude and elevation data of the study
area is essential. It was done using hand held GPS. In present study, MAGELLAN exploristXL hand held
GPS is used. The exploristXL uses information from the GPS satellites orbiting the earth to provide
detailed information about exact location. The basic operation of exploristXL is to use the GPS satellites to
compute present position. This is done internally in the software of exploristXL. Land use / Land cover
map of present study area is prepared from Google image. Google image is downloaded from internet. The

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 Identification of suitable locations for rooftop rainwater harvesting structures

downloaded image is registered in GIS. In GIS, a shape file is created for digitization. Then, the land use /
land cover features have been digitized with sketch tool. Land use / land cover features existing in the
study are classified in to three categories namely built up area, open area, vegetation. In the present study,
3D-Analyst tool has been used in Arc GIS 9.3 version to prepare slope map, aspect map, contour map and
hill shade map from digital elevation model. Arc GIS 3D-Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that provides
advanced tools for three dimensional visualization, analysis and surface generation. Thematic maps such as
Road network, Drainage, Contour, Vegetation and Built up area maps were prepared using Remote sensing,
GIS and GPS technologies. These thematic were integrated in GIS environment for the identification of
suitable locations and capacity for constructing of roof top rainwater harvesting structures in the study
area.

4. Results and discussions

Contours of present study area are generated with 2 meter contour interval with the help of latitude,
longitude and elevation values using 3D_Analyst tool in GIS environment. Highest and lowest values
observed in the study area are found to be 559 and 593 m. Slope Map of present study area is prepared
from DEM in GIS with seven classes namely Nearly Level Sloping, Very Gently Sloping, Gently Sloping,
Moderately Sloping, Strongly Sloping, Moderately steep to Steep Sloping and Very Steep Sloping. The
land use / land cover categories of the study area have been grouped into three classes Viz., Built-up area
(0.0477 sq.km), Vegetation (0.2689 sq.km) and open area (0.0594 sq.km). Thematic maps such as slope
map, DEM map, Road network, Drainage, Contour, Vegetation and Built up area maps which were
prepared using Remote sensing, GIS and GPS technologies were integrated and identified suitable
locations in GIS environment for constructing roof top rainwater harvesting structures as shown in table 1.
Vegetation cover and swale network map in the campus has been shown in figure 1. The map pertaining to
Buildings along with Roads in the campus has been shown in figure 2.

Table 1: Description of structure and Location of roof top rainwater harvesting structures

Sl.
Description of structure Location
No.
Roof top rainwater harvesting with a capacity of two
1 Near PG Boys (Manjeera)hostel
lakh liters and use
Roof top rainwater collection with a capacity of 1. Near Civil Engg. Building
2 1,00,000 liters along with recharge shafts and 2. Near UGC-ASC Building
supported with VRCC walls (three places) 3. Near Girls hostel

To meet the deficit water requirement in the campus through artificial recharge and re-use of ground water,
three recharge structures each with a capacity of 1,00,000 liters and one reuse structure with a capacity of
2,00,000 liters have been identified. Three measuring bore wells were dug for a depth of 30 m near the
recharge structures for impact assessment studies. Water levels measured in the three bore wells on weekly
basis were found to be 86, 85, 32 feet in the month of April, 2012 and the corresponding water levels have
been improved to 60, 62, 11 feet respectively in the month of August 2012. Total water recharged in the
campus through construction of roof top rainwater harvesting structures is 14,00,000 liters.

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Identification of suitable locations for rooftop rainwater harvesting structures

Figure 1: Vegetation cover and swale network in the campus

Legend
Highway_roads
Roads
buildings
0 60,000120,000 240,000 360,000 480,000
Meters Boundary

Figure 2: Buildings along with Roads in the campus

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 Identification of suitable locations for rooftop rainwater harvesting structures

5. Conclusions

Large roof area is found to be available in the campus to tap the rain water for augmenting ground water
resources. The campus area is located in the capital city of Hyderabad and most suitable for demonstrative
purpose and Learned and opinion builders of the future, pass though these portals, hence very useful to
educate and bring awareness to the society. DEM was prepared from GPS and GIS. The elevations obtained
from DEM are compared with Google earth elevations. From DEM, minimum elevation is 559 meters and
Maximum elevation is 603 meters. Minimum elevation in Google earth is 562 meters and maximum
elevation is 599 meters. Suitable locations for constructing three roof top rainwater harvesting structures each
with a capacity of 1,00,000 liters and one reuse structure with a capacity of 2,00,000 liters have been
identified using Geomatics. Geomatic approach proved to be a reliable, faster, accurate, cheap method for the
purpose. The above structures have been constructed and daily ground water levels are being monitored and
found to be 86, 85, 32 feet in the month of April, 2012 and the corresponding water levels have been
improved to 60, 62, 11 feet respectively in the month of August 2012. Total water recharged in the campus
through construction of roof top rainwater harvesting structures is 14,00,000 liters up to August 2012.

Acknowledgement

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources,
Government of India for sponsoring the research project on demonstrative rain water harvesting structures in
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad.

6. References

1. Roof top rainwater harvesting – guidelines Indian Standard, IS 15797:2008.

2. Artificial recharge to groundwater – guidelines Indian Standard, IS 15792:2008.
3. Chilton, J.C., Maidment, G.G., Marriott, D., Francis, A. and Tobias., G. 1999. Case study of a
rainwater recovery system in a commercial building with a large roof, Urban Water, 1(4),
pp.345–354.
4. Mikkelsen, P.S., Adeler, O.F., Albrechtsen, H-J. and Henze, M., 1999. Collected rainfall as a water
source in danish households – What is the potential and what are the costs? Water Sci. Technol.,
5(39), pp.49–56.
5. Słys´, D., 2006. The economic result of system application for utilizing precipitation waters in
family housing construction, Instal, 6, pp.66-69.
6. Zaizen, M., Urakawa, T., Matsumoto, Y. and Takai, H., 1999. The Collection of Rainwater from
Dome Stadiums in Japan, Urban Water, 1(4), pp.355–359.
7. Herrmann, T. and Schmida, U., 1999. Rainwater Utilisation in Germany: Efficiency, Dimensioning,
Hydraulic and Environmental Aspects. Urban Water, 1(4), pp.307-316.
8. Gould, J. and Nissen-Petersen, E., 1999. Rainwater Catchment Systems for Domestic Supply:
Design, construction and implementation. IT Publications, London.
9. Krishna H., 2003. An overview of rainwater harvesting systems and guidelines in the United States.
Proceedings of the First American Rainwater Harvesting Conference; 2003 Aug 21-23; Austin
(TX).

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10. Krishna H., 2001. Rainwater catchment systems in Texas. Proceedings of the 10th International
Conference on Rainwater Catchment Systems of the International Rainwater Catchments Systems
Association; 2001 Sep 10- 14; Mannheim, Germany.

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