{{Language-box|english_link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting|french_link=La collecte des eaux de pluie|spanish_link=Captación de Agua de Lluvia|hindi_link=वाटर पोर्टल / वर्षाजल संचयन|malayalam_link=മഴവെള്ള സംഭരണം|tamil_link=மழைநீர் சேகரிப்பு | swahili_link=Lango la Maji / Uvunaji wa Maji ya Mvua | korean_link=빗물 집수 | chinese_link=雨水收集|indonesian_link=Panen Air Hujan|japanese_link=雨水貯留|russian_link=Сбор дождевой воды}}[[Image:RAIN_logo.jpg|right|130px100px|link=http://www.rainfoundation.org/]][[Image:akvopedia logo.png|right|100px|link=http://akvopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page]]
Rainwater harvesting is a technique of collection and storage of rainwater into natural reservoirs or tanks, or the infiltration of surface water into subsurface aquifers (before it is lost as surface runoff). One method of rainwater harvesting is rooftop harvesting. With rooftop harvesting, most any surface — tiles, metal sheets, plastics, but not grass or palm leaf — can be used to intercept the flow of rainwater and provide a household with high-quality drinking water and year-round storage. Other uses include water for gardens, livestock, and irrigation, etc.
====Rainwater harvesting in India====
Tamil Nadu is the first Indian state to make rainwater harvesting mandatory. On 30 May 2014, the state government announced that it will set up 50,000 rainwater harvesting structures at various parts of the capital city of Chennai. [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/50000-rain-water-harvesting-structures-to-come-up-in-Chennai/articleshow/35794531.cms]
<font color="#555555" size="3">'''The reasons for using rainwater harvesting systems answer three questions:'''</font>
<!--|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px]]-->|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px|link=Salyan and Dailekh, Nepal]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px|link=Salyan District, Nepal]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px|link=Kajiado, Kenya - 3R and MUS]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px|link=Rwambu, Uganda - Clearwater Revival]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rainwater_harvesting_icon.png|center|80px|link=Rwambu Uganda Hills]]|-<!--|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:RWH projects1.jpg|center|120px|link=]]-->|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:salyan small.jpg|center|120px100px|link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Salyan and Dailekh, Nepal]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Salyan 2 small.jpg|center|120px100px|link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Salyan District, Nepal]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Kajiado tank small.jpg|center|120px100px|link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Kajiado, Kenya - 3R and MUS]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rwambu spring small.jpg|center|120px100px|link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Rwambu, Uganda - Clearwater Revival]]|style="background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Rwambu project small.jpg|center|120px100px|link=Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Rwambu Uganda Hills]]
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===Example rainwater harvesting in India===
[[File:200px-TemplePondChennai.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A temple pond at Mylapore, Chennai, India]]
Tamil Nadu is the first Indian state to make rainwater harvesting mandatory. On 30 May 2014, the state government announced that it will set up 50,000 rainwater harvesting structures at various parts of the capital city of Chennai. [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/50000-rain-water-harvesting-structures-to-come-up-in-Chennai/articleshow/35794531.cms]
Around 4,000 temples in Tamilnadu state traditionally had water tanks that were used for various rituals. The tanks also served as natural aquifers and helped recharge groundwater. Over the years, however, many of these tanks have gone out of use. Overflowing mounds of silt and garbage have replaced the water in them.
Now, following sustained campaigns by voluntary organisations and departments in charge of water distribution and use, authorities in Chennai have decided to restore around 40 major temple tanks in the city. The aim is to convert the tanks into catchments for rainwater harvesting. [https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/photos-how-temple-tanks-are-helping-chennai-conserve-rain-water]
* [https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/njes/article/view/22711/19292 Sustainability of Rainwater Harvesting System for the Domestic Needs] (A Case Study of Daugha VDC, Gulmi, Nepal). Ramesh Chandra Bohara. 2017. It looks at issues like long-term functionality and impact of the intervention, summarizing the findings in four key sustainability dimenstions: technical, socio-environmental, institutional, and economic. The study concludes that RWH enjoys high technical and socio-environmental acceptance, but that the institutional and cost-recovery dimensions are weaker, leading to an overall estimate of "sustainable but at risk" for the VDC at hand.
* [http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/traditional-rainwater-harvesting-systems-rescue Traditional rainwater harvesting systems to the rescue!] Rainwater harvesting systems are a success in India.
* [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292188863_Rainwater_Harvesting_In_Chennai_What_Made_It_Work Chennai - A Success Story: Rainwater Harvesting]
* Pluvia: [http://likemyplace.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/energy-pluvia-rain-used-to-illuminate-low-income-homes-mexico-2014/ ENERGY # “PLUVIA” :: RAIN USED TO ILLUMINATE LOW INCOME HOMES (MEXICO, 2014)]
====Technologies & methods====* [http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Urban/Components.htm COMPONENTS OF A RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM]* [http://www.nwp.nl/_docs/Smart-solutions-3R.spread.pdf Smart 3R Solutions]* [http://thewaterchannel.tv/produce/webinars/280-webinar-12-tree-based-sustainable-farming-in-rainfed-areas Tree-based sustainable farming in rainfed areas - webinar]* [http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=50615 Rain Water Harvesting Innovation for Making Potable Water Available in Saline Groundwater Areas] ====Products====* Water Towers: [http://urbantimeswww.smithsonianmag.cocom/2014innovation/04/towersthis-tower-pulls-harvestingdrinking-water-out-of-thin-air-180950399/ ?no-ist Check Out These Amazing Towers In Ethiopia That Harvest Clean Water From Thin Air]
* Groasis waterboxx: [http://www.groasis.com/nl Using 1 liter of water instead of 10!]
* Rainwater pillow: [http://www.rainwaterpillow.com/ The Original Rainwater Pillow is an innovative rainwater & storm water harvesting system designed to be stored in horizontal wasted space.]
* Rainsoucer: [http://www.rainsaucers.com/applications.htm Made in the U.S.A., the patent pending RainSaucer™ is a rain barrel accessory that allows you to harvest rainwater]====Organizations & groups====* [[Rainwater harvesting sources]]. A list of 45 NGOs, government organizations, and some private companies that focus on rainwater harvesting programs, policies, and supplies.* [http://www.rainfoundation.org/ Rainwater for Food Security]: We set an enabling environment for rainwater harvesting (RWH), in order to significantly increase food security. With help of our community on Rainwater Harvesting, we support the development of a more unified global network of national and regional organisations, networks and professionals, working in or interested in rainwater harvesting. By bringing together these key-actors and sharing knowledge in multiple ways, the Rainwater for Food Security programme aims to achieve sustainable change in rainwater harvesting programmes.* [https://dgroups.org/rwsn/rainwater/ Rainwater Harvesting Community on Dgroups.]<br>
====Community Exchange - Rainwater Harvesting====
The image below is the entry to conversations about rainwater harvesting (RWH) including best practices, troubleshooting, and advice about tanks and systems. We sourced these from the Rainwater Harvesting Community - a sub community within the Rural Water Supply Network community on Dgroups - which is a free member-only forum, where people can ask a pool of over 700 members from 86 countries about rainwater harvesting. You can become a member on their site for greater involvement, if you have questions you need to know for your RWH project. Click on the image to get started! <span title="Go to the Community Exchange">[[Community_Exchange_-_Rainwater_Harvesting|Or click here]].</span>
These projects are utilizing rainwater harvesting techniques and are part of the project listing in [http://akvo.org/products/rsr/ Really Simple Reporting (RSR)] on [http://www.akvo.org Akvo.org].Click the image to get started!
|1image=project 790.jpg|1link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/790/|1project#=790|1project name=WASH program in Rural Bangladesh|
|2image=rsr 427.jpg|2link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/427/|2project#=427|2project name=Scale up of Sustainable Water Access|
|3image=rsr 446akvorsr.jpgpng|3link=httphttps://rsr.akvo.org/project/446improve-and-showcase-your-results/|3project#=4460|3project name=Etude technique d’avant-projetRSR Project||4image=rsr 158akvorsr.jpgpng|4link=httphttps://rsr.akvo.org/project/158improve-and-showcase-your-results/|4project#=1580|4project name=Rainwater harvesting for Nicolas SchoolRSR Project||5image=rsr 128akvorsr.jpgpng|5link=httphttps://rsr.akvo.org/project/128improve-and-showcase-your-results/|5project#=1280|5project name=Safe water supply for Fayaco, SenegalRSR Project|
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{{RSR_table
|5image=project 840.png||5link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/840/|5project#=840|5project name=Rainwater harvesting in Guinee Bissau 2|
}}
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===Acknowledgements===
Started in December 2003, RAIN focuses on field implementation of small-scale rainwater harvesting projects, capacity building of local organisations and knowledge exchange on rainwater harvesting on a global scale.
===* This article in other languages===* rainwater harvesting page can also also be found on the [[%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%B2_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8#https://en.E0wikiversity.A4.AD.E0.A4.BE.E0.A4.B0.E0.A4.A4_.E0.A4.AE.E0.A5.87.E0.A4.82_.E0.A4.B5.E0.A4.B0.E0.A5.8D.E0.A4.B7.E0.A4.BE_.E0.A4.9C.E0.A4.B2_.E0.A4.B8.E0.A4.82.E0.A4.9Aorg/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting Rainwater harvesting page in Wikiversity].E0.A4.AF.E0.A4.A8| Hindi - हिन्दी ]]* [[%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%B4%E0%B4%B5%E0%B5%86%E0%B4%B3%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B3_%E0%B4%B8%E0%B4%82%E0%B4%AD%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A3%E0%B4%82| Malayalam - മലയാളം]]* [[%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%80%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81| Tamil - தமிழ்]]