7 Great Techniques by
Which You Can Easily Harvest Rainwater at Your Home This Monsoon
Sanchari Pal
June 10, 2016
Did
you know that if Bangalore manages to recharge even 30% of the rainwater
it gets, it will have more that what the Cauvery River is supplying currently
to the city, while also cutting down on the huge energy bill!
Water. So often taken for granted until those shortages hit
home.This monsoon, instead of just playing the waiting game and anxiously
watching the horizon, here’s how you can gather those precious drops by making
your own rainwater harvesting system at home. Now is the time to become a water
wise warrior!
1.
Install a Rain Barrel
The easiest way to harvest rain is through a rain barrel
(make your own from a large trash can or an old drum) linked to a pipe fitted
to collect rainwater from the rooftop and verandah of the house.To prevent the
barrel from becoming a mosquito breeding ground, fasten a tight-fitting top to
it, and screen the ends of the downspouts leading into the barrels. Or simply
add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the stored rainwater. It coats the water’s
surface and kills larvae by depriving them of oxygen.
2. Create a Rain Garden
A rain
garden is a sunken landscape that uses native plants, local soil, and mulch to
remove pollutants from water, and allows it to percolate into the ground. It’s
easy to create, looks good all year-round and has a positive impact on the
environment. Here’s how
to make a rain garden in your own backyard.
3. Make your own DIY Rain Chain
Rain
chains are not only beautiful, simple to make requiring few tools and
materials, but also a more attractive alternative to standard PVC (polyvinyl
chloride) pipe downspouts. These fun, fashionable & environment-friendly
accessories help avoid the runoff by transporting rainwater from the
collecting pipe downwards to a drain or to a storage container. Check
out the instructions for DIY rain chains here and decide which one would look
great in your home!
4. Naturally recharge your wells and
borewells
Rooftop rainwater is led through pipes with a filter at the
end to open dug wells for replenishing underground aquifers. Based on this
idea, the ‘Mazhapolima’ (bounty of rain) Recharge Project of Thrissur was born.
As a result, today, not only is there abundant water in summer, there is also
reduced salinity, turbidity, and colour in the well water.
A recharge pit for borewells is also a good idea as it
pushes back the surface water into the groundwater system. Usually, a
recharge pit is one metre in diameter and six metres deep, lined with concrete
rings having perforations. These perforations let filtered and de-silted water
seep from the sides increasing the groundwater table.
5. Set up a Splash Block
Setting up a splash block is a great idea to divert the
flowing rainwater away from the structure’s foundation.It is a piece of
concrete or plastic of a roughly rectangular shape, and is placed below the
downspout that carries rainwater from the roof of a house during rainfall. It
absorbs the force of the water that is getting diverted from the roof, and also
prevents holes from being dug in the garden due to the eroding force of the
pouring water. Here’show to make one yourself.
6. Build a Rain Saucer
If you are looking for a fast DIY way to collect rainwater
without much hassle, rain saucers form a great free standing rain collection
system which fill up surprisingly fast. Looking like an upside-down umbrella,
the rain saucer unfolds to form a funnel which fills the containers with
rainwater. Since this easy-to-deploy system catches rain straight from the sky,
it also decreases the chances of contamination. Here’s how
you can make one.
7. A Reservoir for Rain
Rainwater that falls on the rooftop, be it flat or slanting,
can be made to run through a pipe to a storage facility like a sump or a tank.
This water can be filtered to purify the larger particles before being stored
in rainwater harvest (RWH) tanks. By using stored rainwater for washing cars
and watering gardens, the use of underground water can be minimised. A win-win
system for economy and environment, this also helps in saving energy and keeps
the energy bill to a minimum.
You can know more here about the different types of RWH
systems for different types of homes, as recommended by the Government. You can
also visit the beautiful rainwater harvesting theme park at Jayanagar in
Bangalore or the Rain Centre at Chennai where one can see several models on
display and learn about different rainwater harvesting methods. A free
consultation is also available with engineers at these places for a basic rainwater
harvesting design. So this time, when it rains, your homes will be prepared to
save and store the substance which is the lifeline to human existence itself.
(Courtesy: The Better India)
