Design and Plan for RWH

A.R. Shivakumar

Various stages of Rainwater Harvesting

The various stages of rainwater harvesting are: collection, canalization, filtering, storage and
Ground water recharge.

1. Collection:
Roofs are of broadly two categories flat roofs and sloping roofs.

Flat roofs when made with reinforced cement concrete normally have waterproofing course
on the surface as a finish. The waterproof course is done with a small slope towards the
downtake pipes. Usual practice is to use lime surkhi, in recent times a rich cement mortar is
used (muddy in local parlance), weatherproof tiles are also laid on cement mortar. These
types of roofs are ideal for rooftop rainwater Harvesting.

Effective roof area for Rainwater Harvesting

Flat roof

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 1
Calculation of Effective roof area

Divide the roof area into convenient grids. And calculate the area of each grid.
Example A1= X x Y
Add the individual grid area to get the total roof area. i.e.
A1+A2+A3+A4+A5+A6+A7+A8..=A(Total area).
Effective roof area is excluding the peripheral wall thickness and any other opening.

Sloping Roof.

calculation for sloping roof

a
b x

y
a

b
y

Calculation of effective roof area

Divide the roof area into convenient grids and calculate each grid area by taking projected
length & breadth. Actual surface area i.e. x x y is not considered for the calculation of roof
area but the projected area i.e. a x y is considered.
Example:
(A1) Area of one part of the roof = a x y
(A2) Area of other part of the roof = a x y
Total area = 2 x a x y

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 2
 2.
Canalizations
Downtake pipes made of PVC or HDPE or even asbestos cement can be used for transporting
the rainwater collected from rooftops to filtration system before storing. The diameter of

Q=axV
Flow through velocity = 1 to 1.8 (m /sec) (standard)
AxI=axV
a = (A x I ) / V
a=Q/V
d2 / 4 = Q / V
D = Square root of 4Q / V

Example: Karnataka State Council For Science and Technology. IISc

Roof area = 250 sq mts.

Intensity of rainfall = 60mm/hr (Highest annual rainfall)
= 60/1000 x 60 x 60=0.0016/1000 m/sec

Discharge (m3/sec) = Roof area (m2) x intensity of rainfall (m/sec)
Q=AxI
 d2 / 4 = Q / V

Diameter of the pipe/ conduit
d = Sq.rt. 4Q / V
= Sq.rt. 4 x .004165 / x 1
= 7.28cm
= 2.86 inches
Nearest standard size of the pipe available = 3 inches
d = 3 inches
The diameter of the downtake pipe for the roof area of 250 sq m is 3 inches

3.
Filtering
Filtering rainwater is an important process before its storage. For filtering rainwater, Popup
Filter or a sand bed filter is used. This will keep out all large organic and inorganic matter
from entering the storage system.

Pop up filter:

Designed and developed by A.R. Shivakumar

The various sizes of the PopUp filter are 90mm, 110mm and140mm.

Sand bed filter:

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 4
The water holding capacity of a sand bed filter is less than the gross volume as it is filled with
porous material.
Area of the catchment = A (sq.mt)
Average annual rainfall = R (m/sec)
Runoff coefficient =
A factor of loose density (voids ratio). Void ratio = D
For commonly used materials like brick bats, pebbles, gravel D = 0.5
Porosity = D / (1+D)
Required capacity of sand bed filter = A x R x x (1/P)

4. Storage
Storage of harvested rainwater is possible at 3 levels.
Roof slab level
Ground level
Below ground level as a sump

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 5
 Below ground level

5. Ground Water Recharge

Water from the rooftop can be filtered and channeled into an open well, a percolation pit or a
dispersion trench to recharge the ground water. Also excess water from storage systems can
be led to an open well or percolation pit to recharge the ground water.

Barrel method (A.R. Shivkumars method)

The capacity of the barrel is around 200 lts normally. One barrel is required for the roof area
of 400 sq.ft

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 6
A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 7

Pebbles and sand method (Infiltration gallery)
Design of the Infiltration gallery (same as sand bed filter, but unlined)

A.R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator RWH, KSCST, IISc., Bangalore 560 012. 8