Rain Water harvesting techniques

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rgudapat

Member
Hi,

I recently dug out a 9ft width and 3 ft depth pits all around my farm near the fence to store rain water. Not sure if rain water gets stored on the surface or it will percolate down until it rains next time.

I don't have any bore wells anywhere near to fence. Wondering how we could use this to enhance the existing ground water near Borewell far away from fence?

Or do i need to drill a new borewell near to fence? Am i incomplete in the process as far as rain water harvesting is concerned and need anything else to be done?

Experts, please share your thoughts..

Thanks
 

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padmanabhan_ganesan

Senior Member
Dear rgudapat,

I think the idea of recharging the ground water is an excellent way for future use. You have done the first steps to retain rainwater.

You can also do the following:-

1. Please fill the dug out places with Coconut husks and this will retain more water and also the evaporation will be very less.
2. You can also create multiple heightened blocks in your farm so that the water will be absorbed by the soil.

The above will ensure you will have adequate water throughout the year.

Please do not expect the water level to go up immediately but definitely you can see a change in 3 years time.

Regards
Padmanabhan Ganesan
 

ponsanthan

ponsanthan

Senior Member
rain water harvest

Please check whether the trenches are across the slope of you land or if your land is plain find our direction of the flow of rain water during rainy season. Try to divert it towards your bore well. Make a recharge pit around your borewell to a distance of 5- 10 feet to a depth of 10 feet. Fill it with larger stones, smaller stones and sand. You need to spent some money for it; but there is scope for recharge of you borewell.
 

R

rgudapat

Member
Thank you..

My farm is around 35 acres and i did divide into 5 acres grids. Each 5 acre grid borders are heightened so the rain water doesn't flow out rather percolate into the ground.

Now the pits near the fence is also for similar purpose so that the rain water percolates.

As i said, my bores are little away from any of these rain water percolate points.

I am still missing the puzzle in how these things will enhance my bore output? I assume this will recharge all surrounding bore wells which includes me i guess but not guaranteed since it depends on water flow direction underneath..

Is the recharge pit around bore well the only option to make sure that my bore wells are recharged?

Also, What is the use of putting coconut husks in the pits? To retain water and allow it to percolate slowly? If so, is it advisable to fill the pit with husks half the depth?

Thanks
 
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taimur khan

New Member
Hi, I am new to this forum and to the site, I am also a farmer. I cant help but think what do you need need water for during the rainy season? Those pits you are talking about will dry out pretty quickly after the rains stop. What you need to do is to first try and figure out what source is actually feeding your wells like nearby rivers/lakes etc. it is actually their levels which can make a difference. On the other hand if you really want to store water you need to build a mini dam , and build it at a place which is up from the level you have your bores at. Thats what I've done and it works up to a extent. I dont want to discourage you but dont go spending money on something which may or may not help.
 

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padmanabhan_ganesan

Senior Member
Dear rgudapat,

>>>My farm is around 35 acres and i did divide into 5 acres grids. Each 5 acre grid borders are heightened so the rain water doesn't flow out rather percolate into the ground.

Padmanabhan
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This is a fantastic way of storing water but would want you to store the pits first with water and then utilize these heightened bunds later. The simple reason is evaporation. If it is a smaller area, the evaporation will occur slowly. But the size of the farmland is such that, it will evaporate faster.
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Now the pits near the fence is also for similar purpose so that the rain water percolates.
As i said, my bores are little away from any of these rain water percolate points.

I am still missing the puzzle in how these things will enhance my bore output? I assume this will recharge all surrounding bore wells which includes me i guess but not guaranteed since it depends on water flow direction underneath..

Padmanabhan
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The above method will enhance the groundwater level and this will improve your borewell output as well.

If you want to be a little greedy, you should have the pits nearby the borewell.
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Is the recharge pit around bore well the only option to make sure that my bore wells are recharged?

Also, What is the use of putting coconut husks in the pits? To retain water and allow it to percolate slowly? If so, is it advisable to fill the pit with husks half the depth?

Padmanabhan
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The coconut husks will absorb the water very well which means that the evaporation will take place very slowly. You should fill the entire pits with coconut husks (I am talking about the the outer shell of the coconut which would be thrashed and becomes like threads). You can even cover the pits with coconut leaves during the summer season so that that evaporation process can be delayed.
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If I had been you, I would have allocated 5% to 10% which is 1.75 acres to 3.5 acres in the middle of the farmland and would have dug around 5feet depth and stored the entire rainwater and also would have started freshwater fish farming.


Regards
Padmanabhan Ganesan
 

R

rgudapat

Member
Thanks to all for yours thoughts..

So far the methods i did seems to be good enough to enhance the bore well output. Hopefully, i will get the benefit as well along with others..:)

The bores are almost at one end of the land which is at lower level compared to rest of the land.. Land slopes towards these bores area..

Now coming back to pond or mini dam thoughts.

Can you please explain me your mini dam design, dimensions and how did you implement and how much did it cost?

Small pond is a last option if everything else fails since i need to spend lot more money for not only digging up and clearing up newly planted area but also treating the soil to arrest the percolation since the land is a Sandy Loam soil.

Thanks
 
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rgudapat

Member
Its dries up pretty fast.. Typical Sandy loam soil which is 2 km away from beach.

Don't have any specific numbers for percolation..
 

R

rgudapat

Member
Dear Padmanabhan,

Thank you for all suggestions.

The only one that suits is the percolation tank which is again the same as small pond discussed with percolation.

Looks like the only best option is, small pond with rain water flow and bore well near by..

Most of the solutions are for small streams that are running across the land or too hitech to know the underground stream pattern which is hard to model at 200 ft depths...

Thanks

padmanabhan_ganesan said:
Dear rgudapat,

Rain water harvesting techniques to augment ground water — India Development Gateway

Specifically, look for "Ground for recharge in Rural areas".

Regards
Padmanabhan Ganesan
Click to expand...
 

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