So we are officially done with summer! The rains are here! While it is actually great to see some clouds after such a long time, there's still something that is eating away at me. We just went through the hottest summer in anyone's memory. Temperatures broke several records across the country. The country faced a severe drought that has affected several families. Several innovative ways which could have prevented this situation from arising have been debated over and over all through the summer.
Now that summer is over, all that has been forgotten, how convenient! Seriously, how many of you have built a rain water harvesting pit in your homes at the very least? Just what I thought! Considering how you haven't yet reached a decision whether to get your pit, here are a few things you should read. Hope these will help you make up your mind.
What is rainwater harvesting and why is it Important? Generally, Rain Water Harvesting is the collection of rain water and storing this water for later use. Normally this water is collected from roofs of building and then stored in pits & tanks.
Benefits of of Rain Water Harvesting: Diminishing flooding, erosion and the flow to storm water drain by reducing peak storm water runoff. Reducing water bills and demand on your community’s drinking water supply by using rainwater for flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden and washing cars.
How much water can be harvested? The rain water harvesting potential = Rain fall(mm)*Collection Efficiency Annual Rainfall of any place = 600mm(say) Area of roof catchment = 100sqm Height of rain fall = 0.6m Volume of rain fall over a plot = Area of plot*height of rain fall Rain water endowment of that area = 100sqm*0.6m=60cum=60,000lts a) Considering roof catchment is having a tile finish so coefficient for roof surface can be adopted as 0.85 b) Constant coefficient for evaporation, spillage and first flush wastage can be considered as 0.80 Total rain water harvested = 60,000*0.80*0.85 = 40,800lts
This volume is twice that of the annual drinking water requirement of a normal 5 member family. I guess by this point I don't even have to tell you to get on with it and build a Rain water harvesting pit ASAP!
