Rainwater harvesting is a way of collecting rainwater from rooftops and other above-ground

impervious surfaces that is stored in catchment tanks for after use.

Advantages of Rain Water Harvesting

1. Provides self-sufficiency to your water supply

2. Reduces the cost for pumping of ground water

3. Provides high quality water, soft and low in minerals

4. Improves the quality of ground water through dilution when recharged to ground water

5. Reduces soil erosion in urban areas

6. The rooftop rain water harvesting is less expensive

7. Rainwater harvesting systems are simple which can be adopted by individuals

8. Rooftop rain water harvesting systems are easy to construct, operate and maintain

9. In hilly terrains, rain water harvesting is preferred

10. In saline or coastal areas, rain water provides good quality water and when recharged to ground
water, it reduces salinity and also helps in maintaining balance between the fresh-saline water
interface

11. In Islands, due to limited extent of fresh water aquifers, rain water harvesting is the most
preferred source of water for domestic use

12. In desert, where rain fall is low, rain water harvesting has been providing relief to people

Surface Rain Water Harvesting

Surface runoff rainwater harvesting is a method of collecting rainwater flowing along the ground
during the rains will be collected to a tank below the surface of the ground for irrigation and other
purposes. During storage of rainwater, it is important to incorporate efficient and effective water
conservation methods i.e. by reducing evaporation. It is a very easy to adopt technology and very
profitable if used accordingly. The main objective of surface runoff rainwater harvesting method is to
meet the ever increasing demand of water, to reduce water pollution, soil erosion and flooding of
roads.
Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting
What is Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting

Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting is the technique through which rain water is captured from the roof
catchments and stored in reservoirs.

Harvested rain water can be stored in sub-surface ground water reservoir by adopting artificial
recharge techniques to meet the household needs through storage in tanks.

The Main Objective of rooftop rain water harvesting is to make water available for future use.
Capturing and storing rain water for use is particularly important in dryland, hilly, urban and coastal
areas.

Need for Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting

1. To meet the ever increasing demand for water

2. To reduce the runoff which chokes storm drains

3. To avoid flooding of roads

4. To augment the ground water storage and control decline of water levels

5. To reduce ground water pollution

6. To improve the quality of ground water

7. To reduce the soil erosion

8. To supplement domestic water requirement during summer, drought etc.

Components of the Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting

 The illustrative design of the basic components of roof top rainwater harvesting system is given in the
typical schematic diagram shown in Fig 1.

Fig 1: Components of Rainwater Harvesting

The system mainly constitutes of following sub components:

o Catchments

o Transportation

o First flush

o Filter
Catchments
The surface that receives rainfall directly is the catchment of rainwater harvesting system. It may be
terrace, courtyard, or paved or unpaved open ground. The terrace may be flat RCC/stone roof or
sloping roof. Therefore the catchment is the area, which actually contributes rainwater to the
harvesting system.

Transportation
Rainwater from rooftop should be carried through down take water pipes or drains to
storage/harvesting system. Water pipes should be UV resistant (ISI HDPE/PVC pipes) of required
capacity. Water from sloping roofs could be caught through gutters and down take pipe. At terraces,
mouth of the each drain should have wire mesh to restrict floating material.

First Flush
First flush is a device used to flush off the water received in first shower. The first shower of rains
needs to be flushed-off to avoid contaminating storable/rechargeable water by the probable
contaminants of the atmosphere and the catchment roof. It will also help in cleaning of silt and other
material deposited on roof during dry seasons Provisions of first rain separator should be made at
outlet of each drainpipe.

Filter
There is always some skepticism regarding Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting since doubts are raised
that rainwater may contaminate groundwater. There is remote possibility of this fear coming true if
proper filter mechanism is not adopted.

Secondly all care must be taken to see that underground sewer drains are not punctured and no
leakage is taking place in close vicinity.

Filters are used for treatment of water to effectively remove turbidity, colour and microorganisms.
After first flushing of rainfall, water should pass through filters. A gravel, sand and ‘netlon’ mesh
filter is designed and placed on top of the storage tank. This filter is very important in keeping the
rainwater in the storage tank clean. It removes silt, dust, leaves and other organic matter from entering
the storage tank.

The filter media should be cleaned daily after every rainfall event. Clogged filters prevent rainwater
from easily entering the storage tank and the filter may overflow. The sand or gravel media should be
taken out and washed before it is replaced in the filter.

Sand Gravel Filter

These are commonly used filters, constructed by brick masonry and filleted by pebbles, gravel, and
sand as shown in the figure. Each layer should be separated by wire mesh. A typical figure of Sand
Gravel Filter is shown in Fig 3.

Fig 3: Sand Gravel Filter

Charcoal Filter
Charcoal filter can be made in-situ or in a drum. Pebbles, gravel, sand and charcoal as shown in the
figure should fill the drum or chamber. Each layer should be separated by wire mesh. Thin layer of
charcoal is used to absorb odor if any. A schematic diagram of Charcoal filter is indicated in Fig 4.

Fig 4: Charcoal Filter

PVC –Pipe filter
This filter can be made by PVC pipe of 1 to 1.20 m length; Diameter of pipe depends on the area of
roof. Six inches dia. pipe is enough for a 1500 Sq. Ft. roof and 8 inches dia. pipe should be used for
roofs more than 1500 Sq. Ft. Pipe is divided into three compartments by wire mesh.

Each component should be filled with gravel and sand alternatively as shown in the figure. A layer of
charcoal could also be inserted between two layers. Both ends of filter should have reduce of required
size to connect inlet and outlet. This filter could be placed horizontally or vertically in the system. A
schematic pipe filter is shown in Fig 5.

Fig 5: PVC-Pipe filter

Sponge Filter
It is a simple filter made from PVC drum having a layer of sponge in the middle of drum. It is the
easiest and cheapest form filter, suitable for residential units. A typical figure of sponge filter is
shown in Fig 6.

Fig 6: Sponge Filter

Methods of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting
Various methods of using roof top rainwater harvesting are illustrated in this section.

a) Storage of Direct Use

In this method rainwater collected from the roof of the building is diverted to a storage tank. The
storage tank has to be designed according to the water requirements, rainfall and catchment
availability.

Each drainpipe should have mesh filter at mouth and first flush device followed by filtration system
before connecting to the storage tank. It is advisable that each tank should have excess water over
flow system.
Excess water could be diverted to recharge system. Water from storage tank can be used for
secondary purposes such as washing and gardening etc. This is the most cost effective way of
rainwater harvesting.

The main advantage of collecting and using the rainwater during rainy season is not only to save
water from conventional sources, but also to save energy incurred on transportation and distribution of
water at the doorstep. This also conserves groundwater, if it is being extracted to meet the demand
when rains are on. A typical fig of storage tank is shown in Fig 7.

Fig 7: A storage tank on a platform painted white

b) Recharging groundwater aquifers
Groundwater aquifers can be recharged by various kinds of structures to ensure percolation of
rainwater in the ground instead of draining away from the surface. Commonly used recharging
methods are:-

a) Recharging of bore wells

b) Recharging of dug wells.

c) Recharge pits

d) Recharge Trenches

e) Soakaways or Recharge Shafts

f) Percolation Tanks

c) Recharging of bore wells

Rainwater collected from rooftop of the building is diverted through drainpipes to settlement or
filtration tank. After settlement filtered water is diverted to bore wells to recharge deep aquifers.
Abandoned bore wells can also be used for recharge.

Optimum capacity of settlement tank/filtration tank can be designed on the basis of area of catchment,
intensity of rainfall and recharge rate. While recharging, entry of floating matter and silt should be
restricted because it may clog the recharge structure.

First one or two shower should be flushed out through rain separator to avoid contamination. A
schematic diagram of filtration tank recharging to bore well is indicated in Fig 8 .

Fig 8 :Filtration tank recharging to bore well

d) Recharge pits
Recharge pits are small pits of any shape rectangular, square or circular, contracted with brick or
stone masonry wall with weep hole at regular intervals. Top of pit can be covered with perforated
covers. Bottom of pit should be filled with filter media.

The capacity of the pit can be designed on the basis of catchment area, rainfall intensity and recharge
rate of soil. Usually the dimensions of the pit may be of 1 to 2 m width and 2 to 3 m deep depending
on the depth of pervious strata.
These pits are suitable for recharging of shallow aquifers, and small houses. A schematic diagram of

recharge pit is shown in Fig 9.

Fig 9: Recharge pit

e) Soakway or Recharge shafts
Soak away or recharge shafts are provided where upper layer of soil is alluvial or less pervious. These
are bored hole of 30 cm dia. up to 10 to 15 m deep, depending on depth of  pervious layer. Bore
should be lined with slotted/perforated PVC/MS pipe to prevent collapse of the vertical sides.

At the top of soak away required size sump is constructed to retain runoff before the filters through
soak away. Sump should be filled with filter media. A schematic diagram of recharge shaft is shown
in Fig 10.

Fig 10 : Schematic Diagram of Recharge shaft

f) Recharging of dug wells
Dug well can be used as recharge structure. Rainwater from the rooftop is diverted to dug wells after
passing it through filtration bed. Cleaning and desalting of dug well should be done regularly to
enhance the recharge rate. The filtration method suggested for bore well recharging could be used. A
schematic diagram of recharging into dug well is indicated in Fig 11 shown below.

Fig 11: Schematic diagram of recharging to dug well

g)Recharge trenches
Recharge trench in provided where upper impervious layer of  soil is shallow. It is a trench excavated
on the ground and refilled with porous media like pebbles, boulder or brickbats. it is usually made for
harvesting the surface runoff.
Bore wells can also be provided inside the trench as recharge shafts to enhance percolation. The
length of the trench is decided as per the amount of runoff expected.
This method is suitable for small houses, playgrounds, parks and roadside drains. The recharge trench
can be of size 0.50 to 1.0 m wide and 1.0 to 1.5 m deep. A schematic diagram of recharging to
trenches is shown in Fig below 12.

Fig 12: Recharging to trenches

h) Percolation tank
Percolation tanks are artificially created surface water bodies, submerging a land area with adequate
permeability to facilitate sufficient percolation to recharge the groundwater. These can be built in big
campuses where land is available and topography is suitable.

Surface runoff and roof top water can be diverted to this tank. Water accumulating in the tank
percolates in the solid to augment the groundwater. The stored water can be used directly for
gardening and raw use. Percolation tanks should be built in gardens, open spaces and roadside
greenbelts of urban area.
SOIL CONSERVATION
Soil conservation is the prevention of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage,
acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other
unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas. A
sequel to the deforestation is typically large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes total
desertification.”

NEED OF SOIL CONSERVATION

Methods and Techniques of Soil Conservation

1. It saves the soil through harsh weather and stops erosion. Soil conservation ensures the soil
is getting more nutrients.
2. Humans depend on food grown for survival. If we take care of our soils we will have suitable
lands to grow our food and meet our most basic need.
3. Increased crop productivity is seen when the soil is healthy. The more we conserve soil the
more crops grow. Furthermore, crop production is a source of income for many farmers.
4. We harvest better and healthier crops. The soil gets its source of nutrients from most living
organisms because the soil is their home.

Many different techniques have been invented throughout the years with the aim of preserving the
nutrient level of the soil and preventing erosion.

1. Contour Plowing – Originating in ancient Phoenicia, Contour Plowing involves plowing grooves

into the desired farmland, then planting the crop furrows in the grooves and following the contours.

It a very effective way for farmland on slopes to prevent run off improve crop yields.

2. Terrace Farming – Terracing is a method of carving multiple, flat leveled areas into hills. Steps are

formed by the terraces which are surrounded by a mud wall to prevent run off and hold the soil

nutrients in the beds. More commonly found in lesser developed nations due to the difficulty of

using mechanized farming equipment in the terraces. Very popular in Asia for planting rice.

3. Keyline Design – A more enhanced version of Contour Plowing, maximum water retention is

achieved by taking into account all the watershed properties when making the contour lines. The

Keyline refers to topographic feature linked to water flow. This allows the water run off to run

directly into an existing water channel, and prevent soil erosion caused by the water.

4. Perimeter Runoff Control – This is the practice of planting trees, shrubs and ground cover around

the perimeter of your farmland which impedes surface flows and keeps nutrients in the farmed soil.
Using the grass way is a specialized way of handling perimeter runoff that uses surface friction to

channel and dissipate runoff.

5. Windbreaks – Rows of tall trees are used in dense patterns around the farmland and prevents

wind erosion. Evergreen trees can provide year round protection but deciduous trees can be

adequate as long as foliage is apparent during the seasons when the soil is bare.

6. Cover Crops/ Crop Rotation – Cover crops such as turnips and radishes are rotated with cash

crops in order to blanket the soil all year- round and produces green manure the replenishes

nitrogen and other critical nutrients. Using cover crops can also suppress weeds.

7. Soil Conservation Farming – A mixture of farming methods intending the mimic the biology of

virgin land. These practices can be used to prevent erosion and even restore damaged soil and

encourage plant growth. Eliminating the use of nitrogen fertilizer and fungicides can increase yields

and protect crops from drought and flooding.

8. Agrostological Measures – Planting grass in heavily eroded areas is called an agrostological

measure. Ley farming practices cultivating grass in rotation with regular crops to increase the

nutrient level in the soils. When the grass is harvested it can be used as fodder for cattle. For heavily

eroded soil it is recommended to grown grass for many years to let the soils naturally repair

themselves.

9. No till farming – This is the method of growing crops year round without changing the topography

of the soil by tilling or contouring. This technique increases the amount of water that penetrates the

soil and can increase organic matter of the soil which leads to larger yields.

10. Green Manures – Green manures are a few different crops that can be grown, not for produce or

food usage, but grown in order to fertilize the farm land on which it grows. This method can improve

the soil structure and suppresses the growth of weeds.

11. Salinity Management – When water evaporates from the soil, it leaves behind its salt. This can

lead to damage of the soil and nutrient loss. Using humic acids can prevent this or growing crops like

saltbush can rejuvenate the soils and replace lost nutrients. High levels of salt in the soil can often be

caused by changes made to the water table by damming and other causes.

12. Stream Bank Protection – During floods, stream banks can often cave in. Preventing this by

constructing walls along the banks or plant useful tree species will prevent this in the future

and prevent soil loss down the stream.

13. Earthworms – Earthworms provide great benefits of farm land due to the way they burrow

under the ground and provide more are for water to rest after it has infiltrated the soil. When these

worms excrete egesta, this sits in the soils and gives the crops many nutrients which are absorbed

via the roots of the plants. Earthworm casts contain a vast amount more nutrients than any natural

soil in the world, and for that reason should be invited into the soils of farmland to help prevent

erosion and will lead to larger crop yields.

14. Mineralization – To help crops reach higher yields or full potential, sometimes crushed rock or

chemical supplements are added to the farmland, this helps combat mineral depletion. Normally

used after flooding, it brings substantial amounts of sediment which can damage the nutrient level

of the soil.

16. Reduction Of Impervious Surfaces – Driveways patios and paved pathways allow precipitation to

flow freely off them. As the water flows it picks up momentum and in turn erodes any soil in which it

flows over after leaving the impervious surfaces, reducing the amount of these around your

farmland will prevent erosion.

17. Dry Farming – In areas with a very low amount of rainfall, crops which require very little water

should be grown, this will lead to the preservation of the natural levels of moisture and nutrients in

the soil.
18. Rain Gardens – A rain garden is a shallow depression in the land which holds and collects

running water from impervious surfaces and prevents erosion while saving the nutrients that

inevitably get washed away. This also gives you a good bed to grow wetland plants.

19. Re-establish Forest Cover – A dense amount of trees in a forest leads to a vast network of deep

roots that offer a long term solution to soil erosion, another benefit is the windbreak that these

trees can provide.

20. Maintaining PH levels of soil – Contamination of soils due to acid rains and other pollutants can

lead to loss of soil fertility. Use a Ph indicator monthly to check the levels of acids in the soil and

treat the soils with eco-friendly chemicals to prevent a loss of crops and low yields.

21. Indigenous Crops – The growth of indigenous crops is a good way to conserve soil, as the plants

have a natural need for the nutrients in the soil in your area, they help to prevent soil erosion. If you

grow non indigenous crops a recommended tip is to plant indigenous crops around them, in order to

prevent soil erosion.

22. Prevent Overgrazing – Try not to let overgrazing happen by moving herds around often. If

overgrazing occurs, plant hardier and more nutritious species of forage in order to rebuild the soil.

You can also harvest these crops and feed them to the grazers during the winter season.

23. The Sharing of Knowledge – More developed countries can and should share their farming

knowledge gained throughout the years with the lesser developed nations of the world. This will

lead to a better quality of soil worldwide and can help to prevent famine and solves the food crisis in

some areas of the world.

Watershed management
It means properly organizing the hydrosphere in order to prevent major water crisis in future.
A watershed is an area of land and water bounded by a drainage divide within which the
surface runoff collects and flows out of the watershed through a single outlet into a lager
river or lake. Watershed technology is used in Rainfed areas.
Watershed management implies an effective conservation of soil and water resources for
sustainable production with minimum non point resources (NFS) pollutant losses. It involves
management of land surface and vegetation so as to conserve the soil and water for immediate and
long term benefits to the farmers, community and society as a whole.

Objectives of Watershed Management:

The main goal of Watershed Management is to implant the sustainable management of natural

resources to improve the quality of living for the population is to be accomplished by the following

objectives:

1. Improvement and restoration of soil quality and thus, raising productivity rates.

2. Supply and securing of clean and sufficient drinking water for the population.

3. Improvement of infrastructure for storage, transport and agricultural marketing.

4. To manage the watershed for beneficial developmental activities like domestic water supply,

irrigation, hydropower generation etc.

5. To minimize the risks of floods, droughts and landslides.

6. To develop rural areas in the region with clear plans for improving the economy of the regions.

Steps in Watershed Management:

Watershed management involves determination of alternative land treatment measures for, which

information about problems of land, soil, water and vegetation in the watershed is essential. In

order to have a practical solution to above problem it is necessary to go through four phases for a

full scale watershed management.

Programme:

a. Recognition phase.

b. Restoration phase.

c. Protection phase.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

d. Improvement phase.

(i) Recognition Phase:

It involves following steps

(a) Recognition of the problem

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(b) Analysis of the cause of the problem and its effect.

(C) Development of alternative solutions of problem.

(ii) Restoration Phase:

It includes two main steps.

(a) Selection of best solution to problems identified

(b) Application of the solution to the problems of the land

(iii) Protection Phase:

This phase takes care of the general health of the watershed and ensures normal functioning. The

protection is against all factors which may cause determined in watershed condition.

(iv) Improvement Phase:

This phase deals with overall improvement in the watershed and all land is covered. Attention is paid

to agriculture and forest management and production, forage production and pasture management,

socio economic conditions to achieve the objectives of watershed management.

Water Resources Development Plan:

Water resource management plays a vital role in sustainable development of watershed which is

possible only through the implementation of various water harvesting technique. The efficient way

for sub-surface water storage, soil moisture conservation or ground water recharge technologies

should be adopted properly under water resource development plan.

The various measures adopted under soil and water harvesting is:

(a) Vegetative barriers

(b) Building of contour bunds along contours for erosion

(c) Furrow/Ridges and Furrow ridge method of cultivation across the slope.

(d) Irrigation water management through drip and sprinkler methods.

(e) Planting of horticultural contour species on bunds.