Rainwater Harvesting

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The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting
Technical manual for 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

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Featured Articles
July 5, 2023
Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu sets an example by becoming water secure
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Being water secure. Image for representation purposes only (Image Source: India Water Portal Flickr photos)
September 21, 2022
The Chakla bavdi of Chanderi
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
Ichamati: River of poetry is dying a slow death
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
Greening of barren lands – the local way
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
Celebrating the role of hill women in springshed development and governance
Recognizing women's accumulated knowledge and adaptive capacities in springshed management
Van Panchayat Samiti discussing the matters related to forest (Image: Varun Raja)
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Potential of rainwater management in Bundelkhand
Building resilient agricultural system through groundwater management interventions in degraded landscapes of Bundelkhand region
Charkhari talab in Bundelkhand (Image: IWP Flickr)
Urban Rainwater Harvesting'- bRAINstorming
Newsletter of International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance - N° 36 – February 2011
International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance
Posted on 10 Feb, 2011 11:11 AM

International Rainwater Harvesting AllianceThe International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance newsletter for February 2011. Newsletter focuses on all activities concerning rainwater harvesting.

  • Potential water availability from rainwater harvesting in India
    Rainwater harvesting can play an important role in supplying urban dwellers with water. The impermeable roof surfaces that are widespread within a city, lend themselves perfectly to the collection of rainwater.
Watershed prioritisation atlas for Maharashtra
A resource database by MRSAC on 1:2,50,000 scale using GIS technique
Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC)
Water Conservation Department (Government of Maharashtra)
Posted on 09 Feb, 2011 07:34 AM

This document by the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC) presents the “Atlas on Watershed Prioritisation” using resources database on 1:2,50,000 scale adopting a
Urban Rainwater Harvesting, CSE, 22nd - 25th March, 2011, Anil Agarwal Green College, New Delhi
Posted on 05 Feb, 2011 01:19 PM

Centre for Science and EnvironmentOrganizer: Centre for Science and Environment(CSE)

Venue: Anil Agarwal Green College, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi

Topics:

  • Overview – Water – yesterday, today and tomorrow
  • Science of rainwater harvesting 
  • Technology of rainwater harvesting 
  • Harvesting the city’s water endowment
Irrigation tanks and their traditional local management - A remarakable ancient history of India - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Irrigation and traditional managements systems were community led. The recent past has seen sharp decline of both. A road back to the future leads us to the revival of these: discusses this paper
A Gurunathan
CR Shanmugham
KT Ramappa
Posted on 31 Jan, 2011 03:20 AM

Tanks are rainwater harvesting techniques which capture water during monsoons for later use. Mention of tanks in colonial texts is made and the authors infer from ancient texts like Tamil Purananuru on the importance of tanks and the locations for their construction, as well detailing their geographical spread.
Traditional water management practices and water sector reforms in South India - A comparative analysis of three systems and Participatory Irrigation Management policy - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
This paper deals with the comparative analysis of traditional water management practices in tanks systems and water sector reforms carried out in three southern states of India.
R Doraiswamy
Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 06:13 PM

The authors study three tanks; one each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and find that almost all tanks in Southern India face similar problems that include farmers in command area being deprived of water, siltation, lack of proper maintenance of such structures, lack of political will to decentralise authority to tank institutions etc.
Glimpses of the historical water bodies in the Vijaynagar dynasty - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
88 Water bodies of the Vijaynagar Empire are either close to or extinct
GD Deshpande
Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 03:44 AM

This paper uses secondary data to showcase the water bodies that were built in the Vijayanagar Empire. The author states that there were 88 such water bodies and these were used for irrigation purposes and also for consumption.
Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India: A civil society consultation by WASSAN to discuss priorities for the twelfth five year plan
civil society consultation was held on “Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India” by WASSAN at Hyderabad in December 2010, defining broad contours of twelfth plan with a focus on rural livelihoods the thrust area being policy framework, funding support, institutional arrangements
ACWADAM
APMAS
Centre for Peoples' Forestry
C Shambhu Prasad
C S Reddy
Enable Network
Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)
Himanshu Kulkarni
Kamal Kishore
K J Joy
M Neelkanth
M V Ramachandrudu
National Consortium on SRI
PRADAN
Rainfed Livestock Network (RLN)
Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRA)
Samaj Pragati Sahyog
SOPPECOM
Surya Kumari
Vana Samakhya Networks
Vijay Shankar
Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN)
Posted on 26 Jan, 2011 09:13 PM

Rainfed AgricultureA civil society consultation was held on “Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India” by WASSAN at Hyderabad in December 2010 to discuss priorities for the twelfth five year plan. The Planning Commission, Government of India has been steering the process of development in India by conceptualizing five year plans and had sought inputs from civil society organizations, activists groups, networks of CBOs / NGOs, donors and others for preparing an approach paper for twelfth plan.

The objective of the consultation workshop was to contribute to the process of defining broad contours of twelfth plan with a focus on rural livelihoods the thrust area being policy framework, funding support, institutional arrangements etc., by -

  • Consolidating the lessons from good practices in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods in the country, that could be integrated in twelfth five year plan.
  • Systematically articulating issues and concerns (bottlenecks) in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods, which could be addressed in the twelfth five year plan.

Sustainable water management initiatives in Konkan under threat - A report
an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes- this intricate system is now beginning to fall apart.
parineeta_dandekar
Posted on 21 Jan, 2011 02:09 PM

Guest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar

At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.

Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche PaaniStone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

The need for Scientific Ground Water Investigation Services Survey(SGWISS)
What is the need and use of Scientific Ground Water Investigation Services Survey to solve the problem of water ?
Bhoojalshree Geotech Consultant
Posted on 18 Jan, 2011 11:50 PM

How SGWISS could support the Rainwater Harvesting? 

The main source of sweet water is Rain, but the water available from the rain is not regular and uniformly spread throughout year. So the rainwater could be stored by any method in rain. When the rainwater is stored on the surface but there would not be sufficient capacities of structures developed for the rainwater harvesting. Little quantity of the rainwater is recharged in the subsurface and underground.

Articles on rainwater harvesting and river pollution by Janhit Foundation
Articles on rainwater harvesting and river pollution by Janhit Foundation
Janhit Foundation
Posted on 18 Jan, 2011 04:18 PM

These Articles analyse and detail the issues of rainwater harvesting and river pollution
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