Rain Reinforcement!

Rainwater Harvesting is the collection and storage of surface rainwater for future use, mostly on-site. Rainwater Harvesting is the most efficient technique to retain the rainwater for #domestic usage rather than allowing it to run off the surface. Rainwater can be collected from rooftops, rivers and transferred to aquifers, tanks or a water reservoir with percolation. It can be utilized directly for gardening, domestic use, irrigation, livestock, and with proper treatment, it can also be used as drinking water. It can also be used for groundwater recharge as well as long term storage.

With the water crisis looming large on the cities of India, as well as global climate change affecting the water cycle, #Rainwater #Harvesting can be the best tool that can help mitigate the crisis. Capturing rainwater will not only provide for household usage but also will help recharge local water bodies. It can also be effective in reducing the urban flooding and amongst all; it can be used to avert the crisis in places where the water supply is scarce.

The two techniques to harvest rainwater are; #Surface runoff harvesting and #Rooftop rainwater harvesting. In urban areas usually, the rainwater flows off as surface runoff. This surface runoff can be stored and utilized for recharging aquifers as well as groundwater. In the case of rooftop harvesting, the roof doubles up as a catchment to collect the rainwater in a house or a building. This rainwater can then be transferred and stored in a tank or diverted to man-made recharge systems. The method of rooftop harvesting is cost-effective as well as easier to install.

Rainwater Harvesting will make us self sustained for our water needs, especially big cities in the country which are facing an acute water crisis. Not only the cities like #Mumbai, #Bangalore and #Chennai will derive substantial benefits for water supply, it will also help in reducing the need for clean water in the water distribution system. Also, the surface runoff can be prevented thereby reduction in the surface water runoff polluting freshwater bodies. Rainwater Harvesting can provide for the availability of water in drought-affected areas. In an agro-dependent country like #India, water is of utmost importance.

In several countries like #China, #Argentina, #Thailand, rooftop Rainwater Harvesting is being utilized for drinking water, irrigation water, domestic water, livestock water, and are also being used for recharging groundwater levels. In many countries, rainwater harvesting has been implemented by industries to supplement their freshwater needs. In India, the biggest example is #Infosys, whose #Mangalore campus is thriving and deriving all its water needs through the Rainwater Harvesting System.

Taking the cue from several developed and developing countries and also from the examples set in our country, Rainwater Harvesting should be implemented at a large scale so that never again in the future, the country comes at a brink of such acute water crisis. 

Rainwater Harvesting is cheaper and can easily be installed at homes. There are several ways to #Harvest and store #RainWater at your homes for future use:

• Installation of a Rain Barrel- Perhaps the easiest of all RWH techniques is through a barrel. You can make a barrel by yourself from an old drum. This barrel is linked through a pipe to collect rainwater from the rooftop of the house. Put a screen at the ends of the pipes leading into the barrel, and also fasten the barrel opening tightly with a fitting to avoid insects and mosquitoes breeding in it.
• Creating a Reservoir- The rainwater falling on the rooftop can be transferred through a pipe running across the rooftop to a storage facility like a tank. The water transferred through pipe passes through a filter before being stored in the tank. This water can be used for various household activities and the dependency on groundwater will be minimized. The water from the tank can also be transferred to a percolation pit to recharge the groundwater level locally.
• Recharge Wells and Aquifers- Rainwater falling on the rooftop is directed through pipes with a filter at the end to dug wells or bore wells through a recharge pit. This water is also used for replenishing underground aquifers.

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