Rainwater Harvesting: Planning and Design

Water is the most widely distributed substance on our planet and it plays a vital role in both environment and human life. Global freshwater consumption rose six-fold between 2000-2010, more than twice the rate of population growth. According to United Nations, if the present trend continues, two out of every three people on earth will live in water stressed condition that is whose consumption exceeds 10% of total supply. There is thus an urgent need to harness and conserve the water through suitable technical interventions. Rainwater harvesting is an old technology, which is gaining popularity to meet the water scarcity at a few places. There is, however, a need to popularize, replicate and mainstream the rainwater harvesting to ameliorate the water scarcity situation in different parts of the world. Keeping in the view the effective use of rainwater, present study is conducted at College of Technology, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India to test the feasibility of rainwater harvesting through roof-top of buildings and surface flow for different domestic uses and groundwater recharge.