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Rainwater Harvesting-A Case Study of Amba Township, Gandhinagar

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 National Conference on “Transportation and Water resources Engineeirng”
NCTWE-2015

Rainwater Harvesting- A Case Study of

Amba Township, Gandhinagar
Anant D. Patel 1, Asst. Prof. Pratima K. Shah 2
1
M.E student, 184 (B-5)Amba township, Adalaj, Gandhinagar -382421,Gujarat, India
2
Asst. Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, L.D.College of Engineering, Ahmedabad

Abstract

As the world population increases, the demand increases for quality drinking water. Surface and groundwater
resources are being utilized faster than they can be recharged. Rainwater harvesting is an old practice that is being
adopted by many nations as a viable decentralized water source. North Gujarat is water scarce region. The rainfall
is irregular in nature. Ground water is major source of water and that's why ground water is declining day by day. It
has resulted in the alarming depletion of water level & drastic deterioration in ground water quality. In
Gandhinagar average rainfall is below normal rainfall. This research paper describes a collaborative &
development of affordable technologies for capturing & retaining runoff including that from roof tops and roads
using this as a valuable sources of water and artificially recharge the percolation well and ultimately increase the
ground water level. This can be helpful as a valuable water source in future.

Keywords: Rainwater harvesting; ground water recharge; roof top rain water

1. Introduction

Rain water harvesting is the accumulation/ deposition of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer.
Around third century BC, the farming communities in Baluchistan and Kutch used rainwater harvesting for
irrigation. In Tamilnadu, rainwater harvesting was made compulsory. Rain water harvesting means
collecting rain water from the top of roof or building, open spaces surrounding the buildings, farm-areas,
etc. And then storing it for a later use or diverting it to an existing well for recharging. Generally two type
of water tanks are utilized- underground water tank and above ground water tank. Individual rainwater
harvesting systems are one of the many tools to meeting the growing water demand. Rainwater harvesting is
an environmentally sound solution to address issues brought forth by large projects utilizing centralized
water management approaches. Population growth all over the world is causing similar problems and
concerns of how to supply quality water to all. There is now increasing interest in the low cost alternative-
generally referred to as 'Rain Water Harvesting' (RWH).Water harvesting is the activity of direct collection
of rainwater, which can be stored for direct use or can be recharged into the groundwater. Water harvesting
is the collection of runoff for productive purposes.

According to Kim et al. (2005), rainwater harvesting may be one of the best methods available to recovering
the natural hydrologic cycle and enabling urban development to become sustainable. The harvesting of
rainwater has the potential to assist in alleviating pressures on current water supplies and storm water
drainage systems. Rainwater collection has the potential to impact many people in the world. Demand for
water is growing in most cities as every urban citizen requires almost double the amount of water that a rural
citizen requires. Moreover, India is rapidly urbanizing. Urban population in India has grown almost five
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times in five decades from 1951 to 2011. Not long ago, most of our cities were self-sufficient in meeting
their water needs from the extensive urban water bodies to supply water to citizens. Today these water
bodies have completely disappeared. Rainwater harvesting is practical only when the volume and frequency
of rainfall and size of the catchment surface can generate sufficient water for the intended purpose.

Urban population in India has grown almost five times in five decades from 1951 to 2011. Not long ago,
most of our cities were self-sufficient in meeting their water needs from the extensive urban water bodies to
supply water to citizens. Today these water bodies have completely disappeared. Rainwater harvesting is
practical only when the volume and frequency of rainfall and size of the catchment surface can generate
sufficient water for the intended purpose.

1.1 Need of Rainwater Harvesting:-

 As water is becoming scarce, it is the need of the day to attain self-sufficiency to fulfill the water
needs.
 As urban water supply system is under tremendous pressure for supplying water to ever increasing
population.
 Groundwater is getting depleted and polluted.
 Soil erosion resulting from the unchecked runoff.
 Health hazards due to consumption of polluted water.

1.2 Advantages of Rain Water Harvesting:-

 Provision of supplemental water

 Increasing soil moisture level for urban greenery
 Increase Ground Water table (by artificial recharge well)
 Mitigating urban flooding
 Rainwater is a comparatively clean and totally free source of water.
 It can supplement other sources of water supply such as groundwater or municipal water
connections.
 It lower the water supply cost.
 It can provide an excellent back-up source of water for emergencies.
 It is socially acceptable and environmental responsible.
 It uses simple technologies that are inexpensive and easy to maintain.
 It is used in those areas which face insufficient water resources.

1.3 Disadvantages of Rain Water Harvesting:-

 Unpredictable rainfall-Rainfall is hard to predict and sometimes little or no rainfall can limit the
supply of rainwater
 Initial cost of rainwater harvesting system is too much high.
 Regular Maintenance- Rainwater harvesting systems require regular maintenance as they may get
prone to rodents, mosquitoes, algae growth, insects and lizards.
 Certain types of roofs may seep chemicals, insects, dirt or animals droppings that can harm plants if
it is used for watering the plants.
 Storage limits- During the heavy downpour, the collection systems may not be able to hold all
rainwater which ends in going to drains and rivers.

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1.4 Methods of Rainwater Harvesting:-

Roof-top Rainwater harvesting: -Rooftop rain water harvesting is the technique through which rain
water is captured from the roof catchments and stored in sub-surface ground water reservoir. The main
objective of rooftop rain water harvesting is to make water available for future use. Capturing and
storing rain water for use is particularly important in dry-land, hilly, urban and coastal areas. The first
rain drains the dust, bird droppings, leaves, etc. which are found on the roof surface. To prevent these
pollutants from entering the recharge well, the first rain water containing the debris should be diverted
or flushed. Screens are also provided to retain larger debris such as leaves can be installed in the down-
pipe.

Surface Rainwater harvesting: - The storage of rain water on surface is a traditional technique and
structures used are small dams (check dams), ponds, tanks, etc. Check dams are constructed in natural
channels to impound the runoff water up to certain depth in the channel the excess water is allowed to
flow over the dam. The impounded water slowly infiltrates into the soil and recharges the ground water
aquifer. Storage reservoirs for rainwater harvesting are surface or above ground tanks and sub-surface
or underground tanks. The storage reservoir is usually the most expensive part of the rainwater
harvesting system such that a careful design and construction is needed. The reservoir must be
constructed in such a way that it is durable and watertight and the collected water does not become
contaminated.

Artificially recharge the wells(Ground water recharge):- Recharge to ground water is a new concept of
rain water harvesting and the structures generally used are: pits, trenches, dug wells, hand pumps,
recharge shafts, lateral shaft with bore wells, spreading techniques, underground reservoirs.

2. Description of Study Area

Amba Township is located at distance of 10kms from Gandhinagar, state-Gujarat (India).It lies
between latitude 23°11’17” N and longitude 72° 34’32” E. Amba Township is just on the outskirts of
Gandhinagar. The population of township is around 1000. Entire Amba Township contains 100 acres.
Entire Township is divided in five sector. But, currently we are study only sector-3 (A, B). This sector
holds various types of buildings 1RK, 1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK, gym, library etc.

Fig-1 Location of study area (Source: -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpasar_Project)

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Fig- 2 (a) Plan of Amba Township (b) Plan of Sector-3 (A,B)

(Source:-www.ambatownship.com)

Total Terrace Area of Sector-3(A, B) = 22011 Sq.m

Total Road Area of Sector-3(A, B) = 8000 Sq.m
Total Landscape Area of Sector-3(A, B) = 14011Sq.m
Total Area of Sector-3(A, B) = 44022 Sq.m

The total area of roof top of all buildings in Amba Township is 22011 Sq.m and average annual
rainfall in Gandhinagar is 740.3mm. Amba Township is 10kms away from the Gandhinagar, so there is
no any water supply from Municipal of Gandhinagar. There is no any reliable source of water in Amba
Township. So there is need to dug a private bore wells in Amba Township. But day by day buildings
are constructed and population of city are increasing as faster way. Due to this, water demand is also
increase.

2.1. Population:-

So, in last 5 year the population of AmbaTownship is increase in this manner:-

Table-1 Population Data

Sr. No Year Population

1 2009 150
2 2010 250
3 2011 450
4 2012 700
5 2013 1000

(Source:-Amba Township Pvt Ltd Maintenance office)

So, in future the city will facing a various water problems. Because ground water is depleted too much
due to increase in water demand. So, to solve this problem Rain Water Harvesting is an only low cost
harvesting technique to solve this problem.

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2.2. Rainfall and Climate:-

Gandhinagar has a tropical wet and dry climate with three main season: summer, monsoon, winter. The
climate is generally dry and hot outside of the monsoon season. The weather is hot to severely hot
from March to June when maximum temperature is 45°c and minimum temperature is 10°c.

The rain fall data of last 5 years is:-

Table-2 Monthly Average Rainfall data of Gandhinagar

Sr.No Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1 2009 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 381.8 115.6 3.3 8.6 0.0 0.0
2 2010 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 81.8 341.6 307.5 168.8 0.0 20.9 0.6
3 2011 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.3 217.0 346.0 52.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
4 2012 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 40.5 65.4 233.1 257.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
5 2013 0.0 5.7 0.0 0.9 0.0 93.8 412.4 252.3 206.1 75.6 0.8 0.0

(Sources:-Hydromet Division, New Delhi Indian Meteorological Department)

Fig-3 Average annual rainfall data

Total average annual rainfall of Gandhinagar = 740.3mm

2.3. Water Demand:-

As per IS Specification (IS 1172: 1993), Total water demand for one person = 135 lit/day
Total water demand = 135*1000
Annually total water demand = 365*135*1000
Annually total water demand = 4, 92, 75, 000 lit

2.4. Rain water harvesting system:-

1. Catchment area
2. Coarse mesh / leaf screen
3. Conduits
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4. Drainage network (Road network)

5. Percolation well
 Catchment area is the surface on which the rain Water falls. In this study all building’s roof and all
roads are taken as catchment area. This water can be used for recharging ground aquifers after proper
filtration.
 Coarse mesh / leaf screen is used to prevent the entry of leaves and other debris in the system.

Fig- 4 Actual pipe network in building (Source:-Amba Township)

 Conduits can be of any material like PVC, GI or cast iron. In every building pipe network is such
that, all the water from roof of buildings can collect and flow on road surface as a drainage way. In
Amba Township all roads levels are maintained such that water can flow by gravity from higher
elevation to lower elevation.

Fig- 5 (a) Road Network of Amba Township (b) Road network of Sector-3 (A,B)
(Source:-www.ambatownship.com)

 Drainage Network is the network of road which can permit the easy flow of rain water.

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 Percolation well is the well which collect rain water and store it as ground water. Percolation tanks
are artificially created surface water bodies, submerging a land area with adequate permeability to
facilitate sufficient percolation to recharge the ground water. These can be built in big campuses
where land is available and topography is suitable.
Surface run-off and roof top water can be diverted to this tank. Water accumulating in the tank
percolates in the solid to augment the ground water. The stored water can be used directly for
gardening and raw use. Percolation tanks should be built in gardens, open spaces and roadside green
belts of urban area.

Fig- 6 Actual Percolation well (Source:-Amba Township)

In Amba Township in sector-3 (A, B) there are presently 4 Percolation well. Which collect all surface
water and store it into ground water. There are total 5 sector in Amba Township which also collect rain
water through road network so all the water are flow into direction towards main percolation well. So
that’s way ultimately main percolation well should be recharge.
3. Calculation:-

Total Area of Sector-3 (A, B) A = 44022 Sq.m

Artificial recharge to ground water is a process by which the ground water reservoir is augmented at a
rate exceeding that obtaining under natural conditions or replenishment. Any man-made scheme or
facility that adds water to an aquifer may be considered to be an artificial recharge system. Based on
the above factors, the water harvesting potential of site could be estimated using the following
equation:-
Rain Water harvesting potential = Amount of Rainfall * Area of catchment * Runoff coefficient

Table 3:- Runoff Coefficient Table

Area description Runoff coefficient (K) Area description Runoff coefficient ( K )

Residential:- Industrial:-
Single-Family 0.30-0.50 Light 0.50-0.80
Multiunit, detached 0.40-0.60 Heavy 0.60-0.90
Multiunit, attached 0.60-0.75 Parks, cemeteries 0.10-0.25
Residential (suburban) 0.25-0.40 Play grounds 0.20-0.35
Apartment 0.50-0.70 Railroad yard 0.20-0.35
Pavement:- Lawns, sandy soil:-
Asphaltic and concrete 0.70-0.95 Flat, 2 percent 0.05-0.10
Brick 0.70-0.85 Average, 2-7 percent 0.10-0.15
Roofs 0.75-0.95 Steep, 7 percent 0.15-0.20

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Rain water Harvesting by Terrace:-

Total Terrace Area of Sector-3 (A, B) A = 22011 Sq.m

Average Annual Rainfall in mm R = 740.3 mm
= 0.740 m
Runoff co-efficient for a flat terrace C = 0.60

Annual water harvesting potential through total terrace =A*R*C

= 22011 * 0.740 * 0.60
= 9772.884 Cubic meter
= 97, 72,884 lit

Rain water Harvesting by Surface Drainage:-

Total Road Area of Sector-3(A, B) A = 8000 Sq.m

Average Annual Rainfall in mm R = 740.3 mm
= 0.740 m
Runoff coefficient for a R.C.C road C = 0.82

Annual water harvesting through total Surface drainage = A * R * C

= 8000 * 0.740 * 0.82
= 4854.4 Cubic meter
= 48, 54,400 lit

Annually Total Rain water Harvesting:-

Annually Total Rain water Harvesting = Total Rain water harvesting + Total Rain Water harvesting
By Roof-top By Surface drainage

= (97, 72,884) + (48, 54,400)

Annually Total Rain water Harvesting = 1, 46, 27, 284 lit

4. Result & Analysis

Here we study only for sector-3 (A, B). Which collect annually 1, 46, 27, 284 lit water and this much
amount of water can be absorbed by 4 percolation well and if there is high intensity of rainfall then
excess amount of runoff can be flown towards the main percolation well through the road network as
shown in figure-5 (A, B). So this way we can harvest the rain water and increase the ground water.
We can harvest annually 1, 46, 27, 284 lit water which is 29.68% of total water demand. So by using
Rain water harvesting methods we can harvest and store the rain water into ground aquifer or into
percolation well.

Benefits of rain water harvesting by recharging well:-

 This is an ideal solution of water problems where there is inadequate ground water supply or surface
resources are either lacking or insignificant.
 To utilize the rainfall runoff, which is going to sewer or storm drains.
 Rainwater is bacteriologically pure, free from organic matter and soft in nature.
 It will help in reducing the flood hazard.
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 To improve the quality of existing ground water through dilution.

 To remove bacteriological and other impurities from sewage and waste water so that the water is
suitable for re-use.
 Rainwater may be harnessed at place of need and may be utilized at time of need.
 The structures required for harvesting the rainwater are simple, economical and eco-friendly.

5. Conclusion
We can see that, we can obtain 1, 46, 27, 284 lit of water annually. One of the most logical steps towards this
goal would be acknowledging the importance of rainwater harvesting. This should not only encompass
rooftop rainwater harvesting but also storm water harvesting systems. Hence, an equal and positive thrust is
needed in developing and encouraging the water harvesting systems. We have to catch water in every
possible way and every possible place it falls. It can be concluded from above findings that rainwater, if
conserved and utilized using the rainwater harvesting technology, can be an effective tool of replenishing
ground water resources. We can harvest total annually 1, 46, 27, 284 lit water which is 29.68% of total water
demand. So by using Rain water harvesting methods we can harvest and store the rain water into ground
aquifer or into percolation well.

References

Amos Kabo-Bah, Robert Andoh, Samuel Nii Odai and Kwabena Osei, “Affordable Rainwater Harvesting
Systems: A Collaborative Research Effort” 11th International Conference on Urban Drainage, Edinburgh,
Scotland, UK, 2008, Pp-1-10
CGWB (1999), “Activities and Achievements of Central Ground Water Board on Rain Water Harvesting and
Artificial Recharge”, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, New
Delhi, 1999
Dhaval M Patel, Abhijitsinh Parmar , Harpalsinh Raol, Jitendra Jayswal, Gajjar Harshil , Roof Top Rain Water
Harvesting for Water Storage at UVPCE, Ganpat University. International Journal of Engineering Research &
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Gould et al (1999), Gould, John and Nissen- Petersen, Erik, “Rainwater Catchment Systems for Domestic
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Gopalan, Research Associate, 9 May 2008.
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Kumar M. (2000), Aqua Dholavira, Archaeology: A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America,
Volume 53, No. 6, November/December 2000.
Pandurang D. Jankar, Maheshkumar M. Bhanuse, Domestic Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting - A Case Study Of
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