This document discusses water harvesting as a solution to drought and falling groundwater levels in India. It notes that 65% of India's population depends on agriculture, which relies on available water, but that due to factors like deforestation and industrialization, rainfall has decreased. This has led to more frequent droughts and increased pressure on groundwater. The document proposes that water harvesting, which means saving and storing every drop of rainwater, is the key to addressing frequent droughts and maintaining groundwater levels. It discusses traditional and modern water harvesting methods like rooftop collection, dams, and recharging groundwater. If implemented widely, water harvesting could help restore groundwater supplies and mitigate the effects of drought.

1. International Conference
on
"Emerging Research trends in Applied Engineering and
Technology"
Water Harvesting – A Solution to Drought &
Falling Level of Ground Water
Sumit S. Dharmarao1
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department,
Konkan Gyanpeeth College of Engineering, Karjat, India
sumitdharmarao@gmail.com
Abstract— India is one of the growing economy in the world.
Nearly 65% population of nation depends upon agriculture to
fulfill their needs, eventually whole economy of nation depends
on Agriculture. Agricultural production based on availability of
water. Due to high industrialization and deforestation rain rate is
decreasing in Indian subcontinent which results in frequent
droughts. Due to drought there is sudden reduction in
agricultural production and also increased pressure on ground
water. Shortness of water is coped by ground water. Every ones
thirst of water results in undeclared competition eventually water
level below ground falls down. Water harvesting means saving &
storing every drop of water is the only solution to frequent
drought & maintaining ground water level.
Keywords—water harvesting; ground water level; drought;
strategy
I. INTRODUCTION
Water is an essential natural resource for sustaining life
and environment. The available water resources are under
pressure due to increasing demands and the time is not far
when water, which we have always thought to be available in
abundance and free gift of nature, will become a scarce
commodity. Conservation and preservation of water resources
is urgently required to be done. Water management has always
been practiced in our communities since ancient times, but
today this has to be done on priority basis. India’s population
has recently crossed the one billion mark, with an ever-
increasing population, our country faces a serious threat to the
management of her water resources as the gap between
demand and supply widens.[5]
II. PRESENT THEORIES & PRACTICES
In our villages and cities, down the ages, people have
developed a wide array of techniques to harvest rainwater,
which are simple, efficient and cost effective. There is a
tendency to ignore these traditional water-harvesting systems.
We should draw upon the wisdom of our ancient life
sustaining systems and through better management, conserve
our precious water resources. Harvesting of rainwater is of
utmost important and the ministry of water resources is
embarking on such programme. A judicious mix of ancient
knowledge, modern technology, public and private investment
and above all, people’s participation will go a long way in
reviving and strengthening water harvesting practices
throughout the country. Ground water level in some areas are
falling at the rate of one meter per year and rising in some
other areas at the same rate. You can capture and recharge
650000 liters of rainwater from a 100-sq. meters size rooftop
and meet drinking and domestic water requirement of family
of four for 160 days. The number of wells and bore wells for
irrigation in the country has increased fivefold to 175 lacks
during past fifty years. There are 25 to 30 lack wells and bore
wells for drinking, domestic and industrial uses. More than
80% of rural and 50% of urban, industrial and irrigation water
requirement in the country are met from ground water.
III. CAUSES OF FALL IN GROUND WATER LEVELS
1. Over exploitation or excessive pump age either
locally or over large areas to meet increasing water
demands.
2. Non-availability of other sources of water. Therefore,
sole dependence is on ground water.
3. Unreliability of municipal water supplies both in
terms of quantity and timings, driving people to there
own sources.
4. Disuse of ancient means of water conservation like
village ponds, baolis, percolation tanks and therefore,
higher pressure on ground water development.
IV. EFFECTS OF OVER EXPLOITATION OF GROUND WATER
RESOURCES
1. Drastic fall in water levels in some area
2. Drying up wells/ bore wells
3. Enhanced use of energy Deterioration in ground
water quality
4. Ingress of sea water in coastal areas.

2. V. METHOD AND TECHNIQUES OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING
1. Roof – top rain water harvesting and its recharge to
underground through existing wells and Bore wells
or by constructing new wells, bore wells, shafts etc.
2. Capturing and recharging city storm water run off
through wells, shafts, storm water drains.
3. Harnessing run off in the catchment by constructing
structures such as gabions, check dams, bhandaras,
percolation trenches, sub-surface dykes etc.
4. Recharging treated and industrial affluent
underground by using it for direct irrigation or
through ponds, basins or wells etc.
VI. OBJECTIVE OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING
1. Restore supplies from the aquifers depleted due to
over exploitation
2. Improve supplies from aquifers lacking adequate
recharge.
3. Store excess water for use at subsequent times.
4. Improve physical and chemical quality of ground
water
5. Reduced storm water run off and soil erosion
6. Prevent salinity ingress in coastal areas.
7. Increase hydrostatic pressure to prevent/ stop land
subsidence.
8. Recycle urban and industrial wastewater etc.
9. Rehabilitate the existing traditional water harvesting
structure like village ponds, percolation tanks, baolis,
tanks, etc
10. With minor scientific modifications and redesigning,
convert the traditional water harvesting structure into
ground water recharge facilities.
11. Use the existing defunct wells and bore wells after
cleaning and also the operational wells as recharge
structures.
VII. BENEFITS OF WATER HARVESTING
1. Rise in ground water levels in water
2. Increased availability of water from wells
3. Prevent decline in water levels
4. Reduction in the use of energy for pumping water
and consequently the costs.
5. Reduction in flood hazard and soil erosion
6. Benefiting in the water quality
7. Arresting sea water ingress
8. Assuring sustainability of the ground water
abstraction sources and consequently the village and
town water supply system
9. Mitigating the effect of droughts and achieving
drought proofing
10. Reviving the dying traditional water harvesting
structures and their rehabilitation as recharge
structures.
11. Effective use of lack of defunct wells and tube wells
as recharge structure
12. Up gradation of social and environmental status etc.
VIII.POLICY TO MEASURE RAIN WATER HARVESTING
1. Provides at least one roof-top rain water harvesting
structure for every 200sq. meters plot in urban areas.
2. Revive/ rehabilitation all village ponds
3. Subject to technical feasibility, provides at least one
check dam / KT weir / Sub- surface dyke in each
streamlet with catchments of 1 to 3 sq. km.
4. Provide all drinking water wells with a recharge
structure
5. Ban construction of irrigation wells / tube wells
within a distance of 200 m or less (depending on
scientific criteria) of the drinking water supply
well.[2]
IX. SUCCESS STORIES FROM MAHARASHTRA
In Yaval taluka, Jalgaon District, Six percolation tanks, two
recharge shafts and one injection well were constructed- A
total of about 546 ha area benefited In Amravati District, three
percolation tanks and ten cement plugs benefiting an area of
280 ha and 100 ha respectively have been constructed- rise in
water level up to 10 meters recorded. Experiments of
catchments treatment carried out at Adgaon and Palaswadi in
Aurangabad,
Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahmednagar and Naigaon in Pune by Shri
Anna Hazare - effort have led to revival of streamlets and
enhanced availability of ground water in the water shed.[1]
X. PROPOSED STRATEGY FOR WATER HARVESTING
1. Organize Mass Awareness Programmes involving
district administration and NGOs to educate in
different sections of users and to make the
programme demand oriented.
2. Roof-Top rain water harvesting and its recharge
underground through more than two lack existing but
defunct drinking water and irrigation wells, or by
constructing new wells, bore wells, Shafts, spreading
basins etc.
3. Make roof-top rain water harvesting and recharge
mandatory in all urban dwellings.
4. Capturing city storm water run- off and recharging it
through wells, shafts, spreading basins, storms and
water drains etc.
5. Harnessing run off in catchments by constructing
structures such as gabions, check dams, bhandaras,
percolation trenches, bus-surface dykes etc.
6. Impounding surface run from village catchments and
water shed(s) in village ponds and percolation tanks.
7. Rehabilitation all ancient rain water harvesting
structures.
8. Invoke legal provision, if and when required, to
regulate indiscriminate boring of wells and to make
the installation of recharge facilities
mandatory/Constitute water user Association (WUA)
or village Beneficiary Groups (VBG) NGOs to
organize the constitution of these bodies. The WUA/
VBG and NGOs to be associated with the project
right from the concept to completion stages.

3. 9. Industrial houses to be invited to participate in the
work and adopt towns and villages and provide
financial support.
10. Government organizations to act as facilitators and
provide technical and financial support for creating
the demonstration facilities etc.[3]
XI. FUTURE ACTION PLANS
1. Prepare national and state level water harvesting
perspective plans.
2. Develop plans and implement roof-top rain water
harvesting measures using 1,00,000 wells (existing,
defunct and or operative wells to be used in the first
instance)
3. Provide rural drinking water wells with recharge
facilities- cover 1,00,000 wells
4. Harvest and recharge city storm water in 100 towns
5. Revive and rehabilitate 1, 000 dying village ponds.
6. Design and construct 200 percolation tanks, 5000
check dams/ bhandaras and 1,000 sub surface dykes.
7. Recycle secondary treated urban waste water through
aquifers at five centers.
8. Identify potential aquifers in drought prone areas and
declare these apart as “Ground Water Sanctuaries”.
XII. CONCLUSION
Drought is the major problem facing by India. India comes
under tropical region and considered as one of those nations
where water is available in plenty. Due to continuous water
extraction from ground water level present detoriates. We can
overcome the problem of drought and decreasing ground
water level by water harvesting.
References
[1] R. K. Sivanappan “Rain Water Harvesting, Conservation and
Management Strategies for Urban and Rural Sectors” National Seminar
on Rainwater Harvesting and Water Management 11-12 Nov., Nagpur,
2006
[2] M. Dinesh Kumar et. All “Rain water harvesting in India: Some critical
Issues for basin planning and research” Land Use and Water Resources
Research 6 (2006)
[3] Ranjit Kumar Sharma “Rainwater Harvesting At National Institute Of
Technology, Rourkela” Department Of Civil Engineering” National
Institute Of Technology, Rourkela – 769008, 2010
[4] http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/rainfall_index.htm
[5] http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/rainwater.html