[ZedMae]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

Thank you. But again, it's really not my idea. I found a video on Youtube that I used as the base for this.
---
And yes... if you are in Bangalore and trying something like this... I can help with any questions you have.

I do rainwater harvesting for a living . Rough tank sizing (in ltrs) would be Area of rooftop (in sq m) that is covered by the downpipes * 30. Here am considering a 30 mm rainfall event. Most of the rainfall events in a year would be 20mm and below in Bangalore - only very few (4-5 days) would be 60 mm and above during which days there would be overflow from the tank.

Take care in placing bigger tanks in the rooftop (not to compromise its structural integrity).

regards

[tomthump]

We have almost finished renovation and repairs of our rainwater harvesting tank.
I hope someone finds this useful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgNrj...r#action=share

[rajesh1868]

I am planning to have a filter installed and divert the rainwater to my main sump and use it.
This is the filter under consideration.
http://www.kscst.iisc.ernet.in/rwh_f...wh_filter.html

They are certified by BWSSB.
The estimate given to me for full implementation which included the cost of filter, pipes, excavation and relaying of tiles/concrete is about 17k +/- 10-15%
People who have done this or know about this - Is this a reasonable prize?

[PC77]

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

I am planning to have a filter installed and divert the rainwater to my main sump and use it.
This is the filter under consideration.
http://www.kscst.iisc.ernet.in/rwh_f...wh_filter.html

They are certified by BWSSB.
The estimate given to me for full implementation which included the cost of filter, pipes, excavation and relaying of tiles/concrete is about 17k +/- 10-15%
People who have done this or know about this - Is this a reasonable prize?

Hi,
The quote generally is linked to the quantum of work involved. Merely being certified by BWSSB does not suffice. You need to engage person / agency who will also do the documentation portion and get acknowledgement from BWSSB.

Tie up your contract end to end else when you reach out to BWSSB for acknowledgement they will rake up issues on the scheme or workmanship.

Regards
PC77

[undead]

Here is the setup in my house.

[tj123]

Resurrecting an old thread but an important one. As India is facing drought conditions and water scarcity in several regions, conserving each rain drop is the need of the hour.

Hope all Bhpian’s and their communities are prepared with their RWH systems to catch the rain this monsoon and make a difference ?

If we collectively do a good job and monsoon are normal then next summer should not be bad, I am optimistic

Also looking at the poll responses, probably its time to take a new poll on this topic.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by tomthump

We have almost finished renovation and repairs of our rainwater harvesting tank.
I hope someone finds this useful.

http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=RgNrj...r#action=share

Thanks for this video. We built a 200*200*25 feet tank in our property which was full the last year. Want to implement something on these lines to ensure we are never short of water.

We live next to a river which feeds to cauvery and thanks to the unscientific river sand excavation and weak monsoon last year the river is totally dry. Will get only worse over time! Thats the reason for that tank.

Maddy

[Sebring]

Hi, your links are not working. Could you please recheck.

KSCST : RWH - SOURABHA - a case study
and the photos,

KSCST : Rainwater Harvesting - Photos Gallery - Continued...

The site also offers a lot of info about rain water harvesting. And, if and when I construct my house, this surely gonna be my starting page

girish[/quote]

[tomthump]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Want to implement something on these lines to ensure we are never short of water.

We live next to a river which feeds to cauvery and thanks to the unscientific river sand excavation and weak monsoon last year the river is totally dry. Will get only worse over time! Thats the reason for that tank.

Maddy

Thank you Maddy42. Happy you found the video useful. We also have
1. a couple of quarry ponds - old stone quarries now used to harvest rainwater,
2. a few valley tanks - stone lined tanks in the valleys, being used to catch natural springs,
3. and a pond at a valley bottom- a dammed up old paddy field.

We practise what I like to call 're-generation of the natural vegetation' - an attempt to allow the natural vegetation to cover the soil surface. We have been practising this here from the early 90s, so the 30 odd years has helped us learn a bit.

The reason I looked at natural cover for soil was to overcome a couple of inherent deficiencies of a system my father followed from when he began planting his property. He practised contour trenching - a method of excavating trenches along contours on the hill slopes. 6 to 8 feet long, with 2 feet width.
The trenches would be continuous with maybe 5 or 6 feet spacing between them. The excavated earth would be shoveled to the downhill side. (I must state that my father was committed to conservation and sustainable methods and he built a lot of things to help us live on our hill top property. But that's another story)
These trenches would catch runoff rainwater and let it sink effectively.
The flaw I noticed was that, after a decade or so, or maybe even earlier if your soil management was not good- the trenches would get re-filled with soil and debris. Actually it's very good for conservancy of soil and tree roots.
But the continued effectiveness of the trench would require the trenches be reopened/ repaired. And farm labour would keep getting scarcer.

Around this time I happened across a 1933 article in a magazine called Planters Bulletin published by the Malaysian Rubber Research Institute. The article discussed methods devices by a Mr. Birkemose. My father had old issues in his library. This particular article described a 'forestry system' of rubber planting.
Because I had also happened to reach Sir Albert Howard's Agricultural Testament , and Masanobu Fukuoka's One straw Revolution, these ideas helped us device a system.
It's rather simple. Natural vegetation is a nice instrument for erosion control and water harvesting.
The forest plants are of varying heights - which help reduce rain water droplet sizes and impact on the soil surface. Biomass, worm castings, insect and worm burrows, rotted root cavities - all these help hold and sink water in situ.
The humus and organic compounds hold a great deal of moisture.
These and more benefits helped us switch from manual trenching to natural cover for conservation and harvesting.
## I'll try the sharing a picture of one quarry pond, picture taken three days ago. The water from here is siphoned and carried 500 plus meters downhill and up another hillock- to our rubber latex processing shed, and all around our house compound. We get 1Kg pressure head at our house so I can run sprinklers and misters comfortably. Don't let the green moss demean the hygene. Ten years ago I thought it would be a good idea to clean up the tank, so we spent a great deal of labour and time, draining and clearing the silt and muck. --- a big mistake. The absence of silt opened soil pores and water retention was bad for the next four years.
Things got back to normal after leaves and sticks fell it again and formed a nice layer of 'filthy muck'
So for this system to sustain we should learn how it exists now or in nature -- and don't tamper if you don't understand. ###

[tomthump]

A hill top quarry pond with harvested rain water

[tomthump]

A bigger quarry tank, this has an area close to one acre, and the deep points are more than 50 feet

[Gany]

Thanks for this discussion on rain water harvesting!
I have also built a collection tank to collect rain water from Terrace run off. I am using a mesh filter and 5000lit tank. I use this water for gardening since last 4years!

I have ~1.5 acres of land at my hometown, where water is a problem during summer for 1 to 2 months! I am now thinking of doing something to harvest and recharge ground water there.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by tomthump

A hill top quarry pond with harvested rain water

I did show my dad your video and hope he implements it on our farm. In this day and age water is going to be very very precious! Do what you can to conserve, preserve, store what god gives and hope climate change doesnt harm farmers too much.

Some things which we need to change in our farm are:
1) We used to cut tree shade for coffee in the month of feb - march. This needs to change to June to save the coffee plants from the sun.
2) Do not depend on rains for irrigation.

Maddy

[black12rr]

http://www.news18.com/news/india/ben...y-1237706.html

Bengaluru: India’s Silicon Valley will be unliveable in the next five years screams an ‘alarmist’ headline in leading English newspaper "Deccan Herald". It has carried an article based on a study conducted by the reputed Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru which presents a bleak picture for the city.
The IISC study claims that Bengaluru has witnessed an alarming growth of built–up area in the last 40 years. The growth has been a phenomenal 525%. It also says that the vegetation of the once “Green City” Bengaluru has seen a decline of 78%.
The city also known as "Lake City" has lost 79% of its water bodies during the same period.
"These are not just figures, but the lakes and trees that surrounded you have quietly disappeared as a result of the urban sprawl," says the IISC study.
According to Professor TV Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the IISc the city is seeing a mad, senseless growth and its consequences can be disastrous in the near future.
He warns that Bengaluru, the most sought after city in India till a few years ago, will be unliveable and a dead city within the next five years.
Till recently, Bengaluru was known as India’s only naturally air-conditioned city because of its pleasant weather all through the year. The British made it a garrison city after the fall of Tipu Sultan in 1799.
They liked the place so much and even started calling it a home away from home. Bengaluru was a small provincial town till the 1970s with a modest population.
Situated 3000 feet above sea level, Bengaluru has no rivers. Over 600 small and big lakes kept the city cool and green.
But the economic boom in the last two decades has destroyed most of them. The city gets water from Cauvery river which flows almost a thousand feet below and 100 KM away through giant pipes. If the Cauvery dries up, Bengaluru will turn into a desert.
The economic liberalisation of the early 1990s changed the city forever. In the last 25 years, its population has gone up by 150% - from a manageable 40 lakh to unmanageable 1 crore plus in 2016.
Many old time city residents lament that "land has become scarce, decent economy has now become hyper and politics is rotten".
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is held responsible for the decline of a great city. BDA is accused of functioning like a real estate agency.
According to the Deccan Herald, former principal chief conservator of forests AN Yallappa Reddy, the government should use 40,000 acres of land reclaimed after evicting squatters for community benefits such as creating lung space, water bodies and playgrounds.
The IISC study clearly says "decongest immediately or perish forever".
The study may be an alarmist one and Bengaluru may not become unliveable in just five years. But it is a fact that the future is bleak for a wonderful city.



Even more stronger reason to enforce strictly Rain water harvesting :( .

[Chetan_Rao]

The critical bit is for common folk to see some sense and participate willingly.

I live in a small building with 8 apartments, and the amount of water wastage is mind-boggling. People wash their front porches once/twice daily to make rangolis, and the entire building's staircase and walkways are washed at least once a week. From whatever I've observed, such wastage isn't isolated and is widely practiced.

I complained to my landlord and even tried reasoning with some of the other residents, but most of these morons don't care whether people in villages are literally dying due to water shortage while they throw several hundred liters of water down the drain just because they can.

I do my bit by refusing to contribute water to the building wash-downs, sweep and clean my own porch, optimize washing machine loads to reduce cycles and don't wash vehicles unless absolutely necessary, then too with minimal water. None of this makes watching the sheer wastage any less painful, but there isn't much else I can do about it.