Designing of rainwater harvesting system should be given the due importance

A well-planned design from a highly experienced consultant will help you to conserve rainwater effectively, save implementation & maintenance cost of the system Nirav Saraiya, Director-Vivaan Water & Enviro Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Water Management & Rainwater Harvesting Consultants

Especially in the era of high-rises, what are some of the solutions Vivaan Water & Enviro Solutions Pvt. Ltd. can offer for effective rain water harvesting?
Due to rapid urbanization and increase in population there is a surge in demand of water. This rapid urbanization has also brought in the development of high-rise projects. To fulfil this increased demand of water rainwater harvesting is one of the best alternatives. Effective Rainwater Harvesting can overcome the problem of water scarcity for the high-rise building. Harvesting rainwater can be utilized for gardening, flushing and secondary purposes.
The best techniques for rainwater harvesting for high rise projects is installing a rooftop rainwater harvesting system. In this system, water from the terrace is collected in a holding tank alternatively it can also be used to recharge the borewell/ringwell during monsoon season

Steps for rooftop rainwater harvesting:

1. The rainwater down takes pipes from terrace/rooftop to be connected underground through single pipe line network & brought to a collection tank or recharging pit/well.
2. Rooftop rainwater should be collected in separate underground tank and water should be pumped to building overhead flushing tank or water from recharging pit should be directly pump into flushing tank.
3. Before collection of water, first flush chamber is provided to divert rainwater to storm water drain as initial first few showers of rain are polluted and can’t be stored
4. Water collected from terrace area should be filtered through vee-wire rooftop filter & then collected in a tank. Filtered water can be utilised for flushing & secondary purpose. For rooftop rainwater recharging into borewell/ringwell vee-wire screen filter should be installed around the borewell for effective recharging.

By above methodology following benefits can be derived:

• Rooftop water can be collected & utilized for flushing & secondary purposes during monsoon season only.
• Recharged water will increase ground water table, will increase ground water quantity & quality. Water from borewell/well will be available throughout the year

Surface runoff rainwater harvesting system: Water runoff in storm water drain during monsoon season is diverted to underground aquifers through various recharging pits with borewell.

Steps for surface rainwater harvesting:

1. Surface run off water from paved or garden area can be recharged into ground.
2. Recharging can be done into existing or new ringwell/ borewell/ well.
3. Surface rainwater run off should be made to pass through sedimentation trap/ grease trap and after filtering it should be recharged into the ground.

Advantage of rainwater harvesting:

• Helps in bridging the gap between supply and demand by reducing load on regular source of water supply.
• As ground water table increases it reduces the cost of pumping & in return save the electricity cost.
• Rainwater harvesting systems are simple to implement can be designed to suit specific needs. The entire cost incurred can be recovered in few year depending upon the cost of water form government sources or water tankers.
• The cost of maintenance is very minimal. If proper maintenance is done, then it increases the lifespan of the system.

To know more about rainwater harvesting & water conservation please get in touch with us on 98967344735/9892702228 or email us on vivaan.watersolutions2020@gmail.com

For the upcoming high-rises, what advice do you have for architects and designers to ensure proper provisions for water harvesting are in place?

Designing of rainwater harvesting system should be given the due importance and should not be done just for fulfilling the compliance. Appropriate budget should be allotted for the construction of rainwater harvesting system. It should be designed by experts who are technically sound in the subject. A proper manual should be prepared which enables one to clearly understand the process of implementation & maintenance.

2020-21 was a cautious year for conducting business; can you brief us on a few projects which have kept you busy?

The year was actually crucial for everyone. Our company too faced many challenges since many on-going infrastructure projects were stalled. Being an expert in this field with vast experience of more than 20 years and our existing clientele we managed to survive in this crucial period. During this period we designed the systems for D-Mart(for more than 100 locations Pan India), HPCL-Ajmer, Nuvoco Vistas Ltd.(More than 1000 acre Project), JSW Cement(Raigad & Odissa Plant), National Paraoxide Ltd-Kalyan. We managed to deliver our services on time despite the pandemic.

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