RAINWATER HARVESTING

It is basically accumulation and storage of rainwater in a scientific way to combat the increasing water crisis of the present day.It is advantageous in many ways, such as

• Use of ancient concept in a sustainable manner
• Low cost technology
• Can be performed even in common households without much apparatus or technical knowledge
• It can supply plenty of water for consumption, irrigation or other works
• The areas where ground water is saline, rainwater can solve agricultural crisis.
  

Rainwater can be harvested in many ways from simple rooftop harvesting to complex commercial harvesting.

Rooftop harvesting

• Here catchment area is available free of cost
• Supply is done at the zone of consumption

Pond, lake or other water bodies

• This can be used to recharge ground water aquifers
• Here subsurface dyke may be used.

Rain water is generally free of harmful minerals and in most cases chemicals, but can be adversely effected by air pollutants and/or contaminated by animals in the catchment area. Due to increasing levels of pollutants, city and bottled water providers are increasingly turning to use of sophisticated treatment processes and chemincals to ensure a quality product. Consequently, rainwater for drinking should be carefully stored and treated prior to consumption. Several technlogies exist for home treatment including: ozone sterilization, UV and distillation.