Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a simple method by which rainfall is collected for future usage. The collected rainwater may be stored, utilised in different ways or directly used for recharge purposes. With depleting groundwater levels and fluctuating climate conditions, RWH can go a long way to help mitigate these effects. Capturing the rainwater can help recharge local aquifers, reduce urban flooding and most importantly ensure water availability in water-scarce zones. Though the term seems to have picked up greater visibility in the last few years, it was, and is even today, a traditional practice followed in rural India. Some ancient rainwater harvesting methods followed in India include madakas, ahar pynes, surangas, taankas and many more.

This water conservation method can be easily practiced in individual homes, apartments, parks, offices and temples too, across the world. Farmers have recharged their dry borewells, created water banks in drought areas, greened their farms, increased sustainability of their water resources and even created a river. Technical know how for the rooftop RWH with direct storage can be availed for better implementation. RWH An effective method in water scarce times, it is also an easily doable practice. Practical advice is available in books written by Indukanth Ragade & Shree Padre, talks by Anupam Mishra and other easy to follow fun ways

Read our FAQ on Rainwater Harvesting and have many basic questions answered.

Term Path Alias

/topics/rainwater-harvesting

Featured Articles
September 21, 2022 The unique design and functioning of the Chakla bavdi in Chanderi Madhya Pradesh is another example of the water wisdom of our ancestors, which needs to be conserved and passed on to the future generations.
Chakla Bavdi at Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh (Image Source: Shirole, S. 2022. Architectural eloquence: Water harvesting structure in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh (India). Ancient Asia, 13: 9, pp. 1–13)
July 14, 2022 The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
July 11, 2022 The Chauka system of Rajasthan can not only provide a sustainable way to manage water resources in water stressed regions, but also support livelihoods through development of pastures.
Can greening of barren lands happen? (Image Source: India Water Portal Flickr photos)
March 21, 2022 Recognizing women's accumulated knowledge and adaptive capacities in springshed management
Van Panchayat Samiti discussing the matters related to forest (Image: Varun Raja)
November 9, 2021 Building resilient agricultural system through groundwater management interventions in degraded landscapes of Bundelkhand region
Charkhari talab in Bundelkhand (Image: IWP Flickr)
Post-monsoon celebrations
This photo essay captures the range of activities post-monsoon in rural areas of Maharashtra including the celebration of the Vatapoornima festival. Posted on 25 Jul, 2013 04:38 PM

June signals the start of the monsoons in many parts of India. Pune and its surrounding areas in Maharashtra have witnessed heavy showers since the first week of June. The rains let up for a weeks time during which I visited a few places on the outskirts of Pune city.

Ready to plough his fields
Fighting the good fight using the Right to Information Act (RTI)
Sanjay Jaiswal of the Lok Vikas Samiti educates Mehdiganj (near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) to use the RTI in their fight against Coca Cola. Posted on 20 Jul, 2013 11:21 AM

What exactly does a 'campaign' look like? What do people actually do when they 'protest' against something? And how do the protesters get hold of all the facts that they quote? These questions surfaced every time I read about a campaign or a protest on environmental or human rights issues but I never got any answers that made me wiser. Until this summer.

Sanjay Jaiswal in Mehdiganj
Rainwater harvesting saves college lakhs of rupees
Yenepoya Medical College in Mangalore, which has implemented rainwater harvesting (RWH) within its campus has reduced its dependence on water tankers. Posted on 20 Jul, 2013 11:04 AM

Yenepoya Medical and Dental College, some 15 kilometres away from Mangalore city near Delarekatte, is located in a developing neighbourhood; three other medical colleges, many schools and the Mangalore University are all situated in the same area. A software park is also expected to come up shortly.

Rainwater harvesting pond in Yenepoya College
Extreme weather warning!
Climate change is manifesting itself through modified rainfall patterns, extreme events and temperature fluctuations. What effect will these have on water, sanitation and health in India? Posted on 11 Jul, 2013 04:04 PM

We sat in a plush climate-controlled room and deliberated climate change as the outside world collapsed around us..

The flooded Bagmati river
Breaking a centuries-old curse in Uttarakhand
A small village in Uttarakhand stands testimony to the fact that rooftop rainwater harvesting is a reliable, economical and logical way of ensuring self-sufficiency and dignity. Posted on 09 Jul, 2013 11:23 AM

Sudha Gunavante is a contented woman. She has reason to be. After all, she and her husband have managed to prosper on their farm, her children are well-educated and well-settled, and her rhododendron syrup is the pride of the village. If that is not enough, she has also managed to escape a centuries-old curse.

Sudha and Bhuvan at their home in Gauna village
Floods in Assam affect one lakh people - Dhemaji worst hit
Floods in Assam, bio-toilets in Konkan railway stations and damage of hydropower project in Uttarakhand are highlights of this week's news. Posted on 08 Jul, 2013 11:31 AM

 Flood fury hits Assam

 

The flooded plains of Brahamputra
Call for abstracts, International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM - 2014), CWRDM, Kozhikode, Kerala
IWRM is the process of supporting the synchronized development and management of water, land and related natural resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare
Posted on 04 Jul, 2013 12:11 PM

Organisers

Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM)

Venue

Kozikhode, Kerala

About the symposium

IWRM 2014
A 'green' house like no other!
Most of us understand the problems with water availability but how much do we know about implementing rainwater harvesting strategies and reusing grey water at home? Posted on 01 Jul, 2013 02:50 PM

“I want to live in a house like this!” was my first thought when I entered Vishwanath’s home. (Vishwanath is Founder, Director of Biome Solutions). My colleague and I had gone to visit his house to see and understand how he has implemented ranwater harvesting systems and other green initiatives there.

Rainwater harvesting tank in a Bangalore house
Harvesting and using roof-top rainwater - Part 2
Are the filters used for rainwater harvesting easy to maintain? More importantly, how efficient are they in terms of minimising the waste water that flows out? Posted on 22 Jun, 2013 05:18 PM

This short note is a sequel to my earlier article which analysed the functioning and performance of my Roof-top Rainwater System using Rainy filter. While the earlier article narrated my initial observations on using the Rainy FL-100 filt

Rain rain go away, our cities can't keep the water at bay!
Poor urban planning and reckless construction leave India incapable of welcoming the much-needed monsoon. Posted on 17 Jun, 2013 06:32 PM

Breaking news! The monsoon is here! It hit Kerala on June 1 and with that put an end to newspapers stories on drought in India highlighted by pictures of farmers standing on cracked earth and staring up at the sunny skies. However, very soon there will be Page-1 picture spreads of water-logged cities with traffic jams and harried people titled "The city is drowning"!

Water logging on city streets
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