RAIN

WATER
HARVESTING

BY
M.D.N.BHUPENDRA
06L61A0108
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
CHAITANYA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
RAINWATER HARVESTING
• collection and storage of rainwater for human
related activities.
• uses simple systems such as jars and pots.
RAINWATER HARVESTING IS POPULAR
• decentralized and in proximity to the end user.
• can avoid environmental problems of
conventional centralized large-scale water
supply systems.
WHY IS WATER HARVESTING ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT FOR INDIA?

 In India, most water reaches the ground through

rain.
 In contrast, in Western countries (mid-latitude
regions), 50% of water coming down (precipitation) is
in the form of snow
 Snow melts slowly and percolates into the ground
and recharges ground water
 What about rain water?
RAIN WATER PATTERN IN INDIA
 Total annual rainfall in India: 400 million
hectare-meters
 India’s area: 329 million hectares
 If evenly spread, average height: 1.28m
 Actual distribution:
 Highly skewed area-wise
 Thar desert receives less than 200mm
annually, while Cherrapunji receives
11,400mm
 But almost every part of India receives at least
100mm annually
 Temporal distribution of rain in India also skewed
 Rainfall in India seasonal (unlike Western countries)
 Most of the country receives rainfall only for about
100 hours each year
 Rough rule of thumb: #cm of rain = #hours rain received
 E.g.: Jodhpur receives 40cm of rain in about 40 hours
 Half of this rainfall is precipitated in just 1/5 th of
the total hours
 E.g.: Jodhpur receives more than half its annual rain in
about 8 hours
 Natural implication of such skew:
 Most of the rain water lost due to runoffs
 Unlike the west, very little water percolates into the ground
 Hence, the importance of harvesting structures for local
self-sufficiency
IMPORTANCE OF WATER HARVESTING

 Ground water exploitation in India is very high

 Area irrigated by ground water has increased 5 times
since independence
 Tube wells and bore wells constructed primarily by
larger farmers, encouraged by cheap electricity drain
ground water
 Big dam projects have hardly had any positive
impact
 Very few surface irrigation initiatives completed since
independence
 Too expensive to complete (estimate: Rs. 60000 crore to
complete all ongoing major irrigation projects)
 More importantly, displace communities,
 Also reduce soil quality, lead to deforestation, all of
which is detrimental to ground water levels
 To find out: what is the proportion of land
irrigated by ground water versus dams?
 Traditional water harvesting systems have
withstood the test of time
 Hence, worth taking seriously, of course in the current
context and fully understanding their limitations
 Example of the stellar success of traditional water
harvesting systems:
 The city of Jodhpur, even though several hundred years old
and right in the middle of a desert, has never been
evacuated for lack of water.
 The traditional water harvesting systems worked even in
droughts when piped water supply failed
 Om Thanvi, a Rajasthan journalist found over a 45-day
survey that
 In villages where traditional water systems were maintained
and used, there was no scarcity of drinking water even during
times of drought
 In villages which relied purely on piped supply, the drying up of
the Rajasthan canal meant an acute water crisis
WATER HARVESTING STRUCTURES
IN THE THAR DESERT AND CENTRAL
HIGHLANDS
 Urban/rural water harvesting structures:
 Tankas, Nadis, Talabs, Bavdis, Tanks, Rapats, Kuis,
Virdas
 Rural water harvesting structures:
 Kunds, khadins
TANKA

 Tankas (small tank) are underground tanks, found

traditionally in most Bikaner houses.
 Built in the main house or in the courtyard.
 Circular holes made in the ground, lined with fine
polished lime, in which raiwater was collected.
 Tankas were often beautifully decorated with tiles, which
helped to keep the water cool. The water was used only for
drinking.
 If in any year there was less than normal rainfall and the
tankas did not get filled, water from nearby wells and
tanks would be obtained to fill the household tankas.
 The tanka system is also to be found in the pilgrim town
of Dwarka where it has been in existence for centuries. It
continues to be used in residential areas, temples,
dharamshalas and hotels.
TANKA
BAVDI

 Traditional stepwells are called vavadi in Gujarat, in

Rajasthan and northern India.
 They were secular structures from which everyone could
draw water.
 Stepwell locations often suggested the way in which they
would be used.
 Within or at the edge of a village - utilitarian purposes and as
a cool place for social gatherings.
 Outside the village, on trade routes - resting places.
 When stepwells were used exclusively for irrigation, a
sluice was constructed at the rim to receive the lifted water
and lead it to a trough or pond, from where it ran through a
drainage system and was channeled into the fields.
BAVDI
NADIS
 Nadis
 Natural surface depression which receives rain
water from different directions
 They receive their water supply from erratic,
torrential rainfall.
 Can lead to heavy sedimentation and siltation
 Trees can prevent some of this
 Dredging out the sediment before monsoon can also
help
 Can lose water by evaporation
NADIS
JHALARA
 Human-made tanks, found
in Rajasthan and Gujarat
 Essentially meant for
community use and for
religious rites.
 Often rectangular in
design, jhalaras have steps
on three or four sides. The
steps are built on a series
of levels .
 The jhalaras collect
subterranean seepage of a
talab or a lake located
upstream .
KUNDS

 Covered underground
tank, developed
primarily for tackling
drinking water problems.

 Usually constructed with

local materials or
cement, kunds were
more prevalent in
regions where
groundwater is saline.

 Before the onset of rains

every year, meticulous
care was taken to clean
up the catchment of the
kunds.
KUNDS
oCattle grazing and entry
with shoes into the
catchment area of the
kunds was strictly
prohibited.
oThe proximity of a kund to
the house or village saved
time and effort in searching
for drinking water.
KUI
 10-12 m deep pits dug near tanks to collect
the seepage. Kuis can also be used to
harvest rainwater in areas with meagre
rainfall.
 The mouth of the pit is usually made very
narrow. This prevents the collected water
from evaporating.
 The pit gets wider as it burrows under the
ground, so that water can seep in into a
large surface area.
 The openings of these entirely kuchcha
(earthen) structures are generally covered
with planks of wood, or put under lock and
key.
 The water is used sparingly, as a last
resource in crisis situations.
Top view of a Kui
KHADIN
 Practiced in Jaisalmer
area
 Not enough rain to fulfill
crop requirements

 Designed to harvest
surface runoff water for
agriculture.

 Its main feature is a very

long (100-300 m) earthen
embankment (khadin
bund) built across the
lower hill slopes lying
below gravelly uplands.
oSluices and spillways allow
excess water to drain off.
oThe khadin system is based
on the principle of harvesting
rainwater on farmland and
subsequent use of this water-
saturated land for crop
production.
Khadin Requirements:
 Catchment area: shallow, gravelly and rocky uplands with high
runoff potential
 Flood plain or gently sloping plain area (khadin area) where soils
are suitable for crop production

 Before rainfall: kharif crop

 If good rain, half grown kharif crop (e.g. bajra) used for fodder,
and rabi crop grown instead
 Khadin area – few salts
 But area just outside khadin bund has salt accumulation;
hence khadin farmers better off than non- khadin farmers
 Maintenance:
 Grass on catchment, plus restricted cattle grazing
 Periodic cleaning of khadin area, including leveling the land plus
possible removal of deposited gravel and sand
 VIRDAS
 Shallow wells dug in low depressions
called jheels (tanks).
 They are found all over the Banni
grasslands, a part of the Great Rann of
Kutch in Gujarat.
 They are systems built by the nomadic
Maldharis, who used to roam these
grasslands. Now settled, they persist in
using virdas.
 These structures harvest rainwater.
The topography of the area is
undulating, with depressions on the
ground. By studying the flow of water
during the monsoon, the Maldharis
identify these depressions and make
their virdas there.
 They separate potable freshwater from
unpotable salt water. After rainwater
infiltrates the soil, it gets stored at a
level above the salty groundwater
because of the difference in their
density.
oA structure is built to reach down (about 1 m) to this upper
layer of accumulated rainwater.

oBetween these two layers of sweet and saline water, there

exists a zone of brackish water.

oAs freshwater is removed, the brackish water moves

upwards, and accumulates towards the bottom of the virda.

oThere are also tank structures where the rainwater is

collected and multiple virdas (wells-in-a-tank) are built
RAPATS
 A rapat is a percolation tank
 There is a bund to impound rainwater flowing
through a watershed and a waste weir to
dispose of the surplus flow.
 If the height of the structure is small, the bund
may be built of masonry, otherwise earth is
used.
 Rajasthan rapats, being small, are all masonry
structures.
 Rapats and percolation tanks do not directly
irrigate land, but recharges well within a
distance of 3-5 km downstream.
 Silting is a serious problem with small rapats
and the estimated life of a rapat varies from 5
to 20 years.
JOHADS
 Began in Rajasthan’s Alwar
district, which was a desert.
 To solve the water scarcity, the
village collective started
rainwater harvesting.
 They started by repairing the old
checkdams or Johads. Johads
are the traditional way of
harvesting rainwater.
 A johad is a crescent-shaped
bund which is built across a
sloping catchment to capture the
surface water before it runs off.
 Water accumulating in the johad
percolates in the soil to augment
the groundwater. The
groundwater then can be used
when there is no rainfall.
oOver the next few years, the water table in the ground have
been increased through the Johads. The village needs water
for drinking, sanitation, cooking, cattle and irrigation.
oWater is distributed based on the needs by the collective. The
collective has the following rules:
All villagers must benefit from the efforts of the collective
All decisions will be arrived after informal discussions
All decisions will be strongly enforced
Each person in the collective will be responsible to carry out the
task
Collective will use external help only for guidance and they will
do all the work
Before RWH & reforestation

After RWH & reforestation

JOHADS
 Johad collects water during monsoons
 Later used for cultivation

 Johads became the basis for community

participation with general developmental impact
– fewer migrations, higher participation by
women, micro-credit, etc.
 Decisions on johads taken in local gram sabhas
HEALTH HAZARDS
 Waterquality of traditional water
systems often does not satisfy drinking
water quality standards
 Faecal contamination of tankas
 Floating organic debris, weeds, etc. in tankas
 Excessive presence of chemicals such as
fluorides and nitrates
 Breeding ground for mosquitoes
 WHO estimates that 80% of all sickness
and disease in the world is due to
inadequate water and sanitation (from
both piped and traditional systems)
MODERN TECHNIQUES
USED IN
DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
Rainwater Tanks
Construction Material
• galvanised steel most commonly used.
• plastic and fibreglass - suitable where food grade
standard is required and can prevent light entry and
algal growth

•concrete – strong lasting and

can be used underground.
Rainwater Tanks - Typical Sizes
Tank size depends on
the volume of water needed
the amount and pattern of rainfall
the area of the roof catchment
the security of supply required.

Average indoor consumption is 100-200 L/person/day

Average roof area is 100 m2 for a small house and

200m2 or more for a large house. Communal facilities
may be larger (600m2)
Rainwater Tanks - Typical Sizes
Consumpti Annual Roof Roof Roof
on rainfall Area Area Area
(L/day) (mm) (100 m2) (200 m2) (600 m2)

60 300 14 4 1
60 600 3 2 1
200 300 NA NA 17
200 600 NA 15 1
Rainwater Tanks
Rainwater Tanks
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
 Specifically:
 Construction of water sources that cannot be
contaminated by infected persons
 Filtration of water
 Disinfection through chemicals (such as chlorine)
 Broadly
 Community involvement, coupled with health education
 Protect the catchment area; fencing it off to keep out
cattle and human beings from polluting the area
 Improvements in the design and construction of the
catchment area, storage and withdrawal so as to reduce
pollution
 Awareness regarding traditional water systems and
their health impact
MOTIVATIONS FOR WATER HARVESTING
 India too diverse for dams
 Working examples

 Modern technology potentially lead to regression

 Water crucial in India (50% people will suffer

from lack of drinking water)
 Importance of reforestation
 Keeping cattle away from catchment

 Uthnau – “holes” dug up in the stone

quarries act as water tanks
 Soil isn’t very deep, mostly rocky land
 No trees
 Volunteers from outside very hard to find
(remote area)
 Volunteers need to not feel superior to the local
tribals
 Too Goria centric