NEED FOR RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Traditionally, rainwater harvesting has been practised in arid and semi-arid areas, and has provided
drinking water, domestic water, watr for livestock, water for small irrigation and a way to replenish
ground water levels. This method may have been used extensively by the Indus Valley Civilization.

Currently in China and Brazil, rooftop rainwater harvesting is being practised for use for all the above
purposes. Gansu province in China and semi-arid north east Brazil have the largest rooftop rainwater
harvesting projects ongoing.

Rainwater harvesting in urban areas can have manifold reasons. To provide supplemental water for the
city's requirement, to increase soil moisture levels for urban greenery, to increase the ground water table
through artificial recharge, to mitigate urban flooding and to improve the quality of groundwater are
some of the reasons why rainwater harvesting can be adopted in cities. In urban areas of the developed
world, at a household level, harvested rainwater can be used for flushing toilets and washing laundry.
Indeed in hard water areas it is superior to mains water for this. It can also be used for showering or
bathing. It may require treatment prior to use for drinking.

a. Unit cost of construction activities.

Item Unit Rate (Rs.)

Excavation in soils cu. m. 90.00

Excavation in rock cu. m. 150.00

Brickwork with cement mortar (1:6) cu. m. 1400.00

Plain cement concrete (1:3:6) cu. m. 1500.00

Reinforced cement concrete (1:2:4) cu. m.

cu. m. 4700.00
4700.00Including steel bars, shuttering etc.

PVC piping for rainwater pipes

 - 110 mm diameter Metre 165.00
 - 200 mm diameter metre 275.00

Making borehole in metre 165.00Soft soil (with 150 mm

metre 180.00
diameter PVC casing)

b. Ferrocement tanks with skeletal cage

Capacity of rooftop water harvesting system in litres

5,000 6,000 7,000 9,000 10,000

Total cost in
12,430 12,975 13,970 14,380 15,800
rupees

Source: Action for food Production and United Nations Children's Fund, Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems

c. Plastic tanks:

Available as finished products in various capacities. The cost of these tanks ranges from Rs 2/litre to about Rs 3.5/litre.

Other brands available in the market

Brand name Unit cost (Rs. Per litre)

Hindustan, Jindal 1.80

Storex, Ganga 2.75

infrastructure

 A 1500 gallon plastic cistern, approximate cost: $500. Purchased from Northwest Irrigation,
Tangent, Oregon, 541-928-0114. Contact local agriculture/farm stores for best prices.
 A 1/2 horsepower shallow-well pump to pressurize the water to between 20 and 30 psi (pressure
is adjustable), approximate cost: $250. I utilized a Jaccuzzi brand pump.
 Plastic (outdoor PVC and indoor CPVC) piping to connect to the household cold water system.
 Two particulate filters in series, rated at 20 and 5 micron particle size, approximate cost: $20
each; replaceable filter cartridges cost $3-5 each.
 An ultraviolet light sterilizer capable of sterilizing water at 10 gallons per minute. This appliance
was recently approved for use in Oregon. I used the PURA (1-800-292-PURA, Valencia,
California) model UV20-1, cost approximately $350. Uses about 40 watts. Fluorescent
ultraviolet light rated at 9600 hours, about one year of continuous use. Replacement cost of
fluorescent tube: about $80.
 Screen covering the cistern to prevent entry of mosquitoes and to catch any large particles that
make it past the gutter screening.
 A roof-washer which wastes the first 7.5 gallons of captured water which has "washed" the roof.
Once the roof washer has filled, the rest of the water flows to the cistern. See below for details.
 A 20 gallon water butyl rubber diaphragm pressure storage tank, approximate cost: $150.
 A reduced pressure backflow prevention device. This was required by the city to prevent flow of
rainwater into the public system. Cost: $120. This would not be necessary if we used rainwater
exclusively. However, Oregon has very dry summers and our cistern is exhausted by July. We
currently depend on city water during the summer. The city requires annual inspection of these
devices, costing about $30. (See photo below.)
  A (optional) water meter to measure rainwater
output, approximate cost: $45.

Maintenance
consists of
keeping gutters
and cistern
screen clean.
Filters and ultra-
violet lamp will
need periodic
replacement. The
tank is
thoroughly
cleaned annually
in the summer when it empties. Backflow prevention
device requires annual inspection. Public health
authorities recommend periodic testing of water for fecal
coliform bacteria, as for any private water system.
Several recent tests showed none. The inside components of our system, pictured here, take up about 6
square feet of floor space.

At the current time we continue to use the public water supply only for summertime water and
occasional drinking and cooking. In fact, during the rainy season, which lasts from about September to
June, our only connection to the public utility is one faucet at the kitchen sink which uses less than one
gallon per day, which got us into hot water with the city water bureau.