Our world has limited resources, and Water is among them. Rain Water Harvesting is a simple way to save water and improve ground water quality.

2. Our earth is 2/3 water And 1/3 land
Of the 71% of water on our planet most is
sea water, which cannot be used for
domestic, agricultural and industrial use.
Less than 3% is fresh water of which 98%
is locked in Glaciers and Polar Ice
Caps.Freshwater in lakes and rivers amts
to 0.0028%, while 0.09% is stored as
ground water.
Just 0.03% has to be shared between a 6
Billion humans, millions of trees, plants
and other animals!
Of the 71% of water on our planet most is
sea water, which cannot be used for
domestic, agricultural and industrial use.
Less than 3% is fresh water of which 98%
is locked in Glaciers and Polar Ice
Caps.Freshwater in lakes and rivers amts
to 0.0028%, while 0.09% is stored as
ground water.
Just 0.03% has to be shared between a 6
Billion humans, millions of trees, plants
and other animals!

3. Importance of water
Water is essential for all life
forms. For example it makes up
60 to 70% by weight of all living
organisms and is essential for
photosynthesis. The viability of
all life on Earth is determined
chiefly by the presence of water,
which is not evenly distributed
on the planet. If it were, it would
cover the entire surface to a
depth of 3 km.

4. Water Cycle.

5. Pollution of Ground Water

6. Causes of Water Crisis in India
Before British era People managed water
themselves. Rich people had their own wells, while
poorer people had a common village well.
From 19th
century onward the state became the sloe
provider of water.
People forgot the traditional systems of managing
water resources.
Today growing population, urbanization,
industrialization, have led to a water crisis in India.
India has the highest number of fresh water bodies
as per the surface area of any country.

7. WATERCONSUMPTION
(in per cent)
WORLD INDIA
AGRICULTURE 69.0 90.0
DOMESTIC 8.0 4.0
INDUSTRY 23.0 6.0

8. Solution to the Water Crisis
=Rain Water Harvesting.
•Cost-effective method of
catching and holding rain where
it falls and using it.
•Extremely essential for the
Natural balance & ground-water
level maintenance.
•4 million liters of Rainwater can
be collected from an average
rainfall of 1,000mm.
•Feasible in regions that receive
moderate to heavy rainfall.

9. Why to harvest rain?Why to harvest rain?
•An ideal solution for areas where there isAn ideal solution for areas where there is
insufficient waterinsufficient water
•Reduces load on treatment plantsReduces load on treatment plants
•Reduces urban floodingReduces urban flooding
•Improves the quality of existing groundwater.Improves the quality of existing groundwater.

10. The way forward
Many countries use subterranean supplies of
groundwater instead of rainfall and surface water.
When groundwater is depleted, rivers, wetlands and
lakes that depend on it can dry out, saline seawater
may flow in to replace the fresh water that has been
pumped out and emptied aquifers can be compressed
causing subsidence - a problem familiar in Bangkok,
Mexico City and Venice.
Groundwater levels should be carefully monitored to
stop over-pumping.
Rain Water harvesting through Recharging Systems
Improves the Ground Water levels.
Many countries use subterranean supplies of
groundwater instead of rainfall and surface water.
When groundwater is depleted, rivers, wetlands and
lakes that depend on it can dry out, saline seawater
may flow in to replace the fresh water that has been
pumped out and emptied aquifers can be compressed
causing subsidence - a problem familiar in Bangkok,
Mexico City and Venice.
Groundwater levels should be carefully monitored to
stop over-pumping.
Rain Water harvesting through Recharging Systems
Improves the Ground Water levels.

11. Objectives of Rainwater Harvesting
• To conserve surface run-off during monsoons.
• To recharge aquifers and increase availability of
groundwater.
• To overcome the problem of flooding and stagnation of
water during monsoon season.

12. Why is it needed?
• Water scarcity - A serious problem throughout the world
for urban and rural communities.
• Urbanization has led to overexploitation of groundwater
reserves & the quantity of rainfall is not certain anytime.

13. Traditional Types of Water Harvesting.
The type used depends on
conditions including both physical
and human:-
 KULS-
• Water channels found in
precipitous mountain areas.
E.g.:- Himachal Pradesh, Jammu.
 VIRDAS-
• Shallow wells dug in low
depressions called jheels (tanks).
E.g.:- Great Rann
of Kutch in Gujarat

14.  Bamboo Drip Irrigation-
• Tapping of stream & spring water using
bamboo pipes to irrigate plantations.
E.g.:- Meghalaya
 Eri-
• These are tanks to collect water, prevent
soil erosion & wastage of runoff.
E.g.:-Tamil nadu.
 Kunds-
• Underground tanks developed to tackle
water problems.
E.g.:- Thar desert in Rajasthan.

15. Typical water harvesting system

16. Rural water harvesting.
A villager's house is about
300 sq.feet.
Rainwater can be collected
from the roof through pipes.
They have made checkdams, johads,
to harvest every drop of drain
Also, the potential of
lakes, tanks and ponds to
store rainwater is immense.

17. Urban water harvesting
Rain water can be harvested
by two methods:-
 Store the rainwater in
containers above or above
grounds or below grounds.
 Charged into the soil for
withdrawal later
(groundwater recharging).

18. SOURCE
• ROOFTOPS
• PAVED AND
UNPAVED AREAS
• WATERBODIES
• STORMWATER
DRAINS

19. FACTORS Influencing urban rainwater
Harvesting Systems.
• RAINFALL
- Quantity
- Pattern
• CATCHMENT AREA CHARACTERISTICS
• AREA CONTRIBUTING RUNOFF
- How much is the area
- Land use pattern
• HYDROGEOLOGY
- Soil cover
- Depth to water levels
- Chemical quality of ground water

20. Large Rain Water Harvesting
Systems.Percolation pit is an
artificial structure to divert
rainwater into an aquifer.
When the depth of clay
soil is more, recharge
through a percolation pit
with bore is preferable.
Constructed using cement
rings available in the market.

21. Dug cum bore pit
(DCB):-
• It is a type of percolation
pit with a large chamber
and deeper inwell bore.
Trench cum Percolation
(TCP):-
• An ideal structure in open land
trap surface water & recharge
the aquifer.

22. Government Regulations
 In November 1998, the then-President of India,
K R Narayanan invited CSE to suggest measures
for water harvesting.
 The Government has passed an act so as to make
rain water harvesting mandatory in all large buildings
(public & private) in places like Rajasthan, Tamil
Nadu,Delhi etc.
 Acts such as Groundwater Regulation Act, Andhra
Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act have been
passed.

23. NGO’s involved.
The better known NGO's working in the field of
Water harvesting across India are:-
• Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi
• Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS)in Alwar Rajasthan - Rajender Singh
• DHAN Foundation - Madurai Tamil Nadu - Vasimalai
• RS - Ralegaon Siddhi - Ahmednagar district - Maharashtra - Anna
• SMSF - S.M.Sehgal Foundation- Gurgaon Haryana - Dr Suri Sehga
• Akash Ganga Trust - Chennai
Anil Agarwal,
Founder
of CSE

24. Third World War will be a War
over Water!!!

25. You Do your bit and help save
water. How?

26. Together we can save water

27. It requires each of us to do our bit.

28. Every society building can do
recharge of the Ground Water Table

29. Basic Uses of harvesting water.
 Groundwater gets recharged.
 Reduces strain on Special Village
Panchayats/Municipal bodies for
water supply.
 Leads to improvement in
infiltration & reduction in run-off.
 Is a cheap way to improve the
groundwater potential in that area.

30. Current Example
RAN SINGH
Age: 62
Town: Lahsedi
District: Churu
State: Rajasthan
 He has done phenomenal work in Indian Thar desert of
Rajasthan by placing kundis for water harvesting.
 Since the age of 13, he has made 450 kundis so far taking
25 days for each kundi.
 Villagers rely on Ran singh and not the government for
water supply through kundis.

31. As more Forests are lost to agriculture and population
pressure, collection of water through
Surface Watershed Management is important.

32. Today Reuse of Waste Water can
help solve the Water Crisis. How?

33. Biological treatment of waste water makes waste
water fit for washing, gardening, cleaning,
construction and industrial use.
Eg. Orchid Ecotel, Lotus Suites and Rodus.

34. EsselWorld and Water Kingdom India’s Largest
Amusement park daily recycles 3,00,000 litres of
water, which is reused to garden , clean toilets and
for flushing.

36. International water management
Techniques.
Agricultural technology is constantly
improving. For example we could
develop irrigation systems that drip
water directly onto plants and
precision sprinklers.
In China, Israel, Peru, Brazil etc
farmers are using storage tanks to
collect rainwater in their fields,
providing drinking water and extra
irrigation for vast areas.