Presentation

Rainwater Harvesting
Niharika Development Network

Rainwater Harvesting
RWH - yield copious amounts of water. For an average rainfall of 1,000mm, approximately four million liters of rainwater can be collected in a year in an acre of land (4,047 m2), postevaporation. As RWH - neither energy-intensive nor labour-intensive It can be a cost-effective alternative to other water-accruing methods. With the water table falling rapidly, & concrete surfaces and landfill dumps taking the place of water bodies, RWH is the most reliable solution for augmenting groundwater level to attain self-sufficiency

Fundamentals of Rainwater Harvesting

drinking, cooking, bathing (potable quality) swimming pool replenishment toilet flushing laundry (reduces detergent & bleach) landscape irrigation livestock & animals

Why Harvest the Rain?

RWH is most suitable where ... groundwater is scarce groundwater is contaminated terrain is rugged or mountainous seismic & flooding events are common the aquifer is at risk of saltwater intrusion population density is low electricity & water prices are rising water is too hard or mineral laden consumers must restrict salt/chlorine intake

Practical Advantages of RWH

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 maintain

Qualitative Advantage of RWH

naturally pure naturally soft (no dissolved minerals) free for those who collect it sustainable free of chlorine and its by products free of pesticides and other man-made contaminants

How to Harvest the Rain

The six basic components of a Rain Water Harvesting system include: Catchment: roof surface to collect the rain Conveyance: channels or pipes from roof or catchment area to storage Roof washing: first flush diverter system to filter and remove contaminants Storage: cisterns or tanks where collected rainwater is securely stored i.e. insect proof

How to Harvest the Rain

Purification: includes filtration, ozone or UV light to purify the collected rainwater for potable use Distribution: system that delivers the rainwater, usually including a small pump and pressure tank

Rain Water Harvesting Methods

Ferro cement Tanks

Rain Water Harvesting Methods

Watershed Development & Modelling

Limited water resources, more demand.

Watershed is the basic scientific unit. Need for proper planning and management. Integrated watershed development approach Digital revolution Recent advances in watershed modeling use of computer models, remote sensing and GIS.

WATERSHED Development
Parameters of Watershed

Size Shape Physiography Climate Drainage Land use

Vegetation Geology and Soils Hydrology Hydrogeology Socioeconomics

WATERSHED MODELLING
Watershed modeling steps 1. Formulation 2. Calibration/verification 3. Application Watershed model constitutes 1. Input function 2. Output function 3. Transform function

WATERSHED MODELLING
ET Precipitation

Flowchart of simple watershed model (McCuen, 1989)

ET

Interception Storage

Surface Storage

Surface Runoff

Infiltration

Interflow

Direct Runoff

Percolation Groundwater Storage

Base flow Channel Processes

WATERSHED MODELLING
General Classification of Models Broadly classified into three types Black Box Models: These models describe mathematically the relation between rainfall and surface runoff without describing the physical process by which they are related. e.g. Unit Hydrograph approach Lumped models: These models occupy an intermediate position between the distributed models and Black Box Models. e.g. Stanford Watershed Model Distributed Models: These models are based on complex physical theory, i.e. based on the solution of unsteady flow equations.

Concluding Remarks

About 2-4 meter water level increase is observed in selected wells

Watershed management can easily cope with climate change impacts. The benefits of rainwater harvesting not only for drinking water security but also for agriculture definitely reached.

Thank You!!!

Faisal Ashraf
Director Planning
Niharika Development Network