16.-Groundwater recharge by roof top rainwater harvesting for augmenting water supply in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Rain water that falls on the roof tops of houses, which normally drains out into sewage and storm drains, is the best source of water available to urban dwellers for water harvesting. This roof top rainwater can be conserved and used for recharging of groundwater, thus bringing much needed relief to the water scarcity areas of the city, as also reducing the stress on the drainage system of the city to some extent. Roof top rainwater harvesting encompasses methods to collect and store rainwater from roof for beneficial use and has been practiced in India for centuries. These practices have been relegated into relative insignificance with the introduction of large scale centralized water supply systems through reservoir storage or tubewell supply. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in the cities of India has brought about adverse impact on the Municipality or PHED water supply. Shortage of drinking water especially urban areas has become a cause of concern. With the ever-increasing population in urban areas, sufficient quantity of good quality water is generally short of demand. To meet the shortage of water supply, private borewells are being drilled in large number, leading to the declining trend in water level. There is an urgent need to recycle and conserve all the available fresh water and also for recharging the ground water.