Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting

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.

The reasons for using rainwater harvesting systems answer three questions:

What: Rainwater harvesting will improve water supply, food production, and ultimately food security.

Who: Water insecure households or individuals in rural areas will benefit the most from rainwater harvesting systems.

How: Since rainwater harvesting leads to water supply which leads to food security, this will greatly contribute to income generation.

Rainwater Harvesting TOOLS - simple methods applicable to project planning

3R (Recharge, Retention & Reuse)	Business Development - Micro-financing	Multiple Use Services (MUS)	SamSam RWH Tool

Rainwater Harvesting TECHNOLOGIES - technical construction details, costs, and applicability

Rooftop	In situ	Surface water	Groundwater recharge	Fog and dew

Rainwater Harvesting INNOVATION PILOTS - projects in practice on 3R, MUS and sustainable financing

Salyan and Dailekh, Nepal	Salyan District, Nepal	Kajiado, Kenya - 3R and MUS	Rwambu, Uganda - Clearwater Revival	Rwambu Uganda Hills

Field experiences

These projects are utilizing rainwater harvesting techniques and are part of the project listing in Really Simple Reporting (RSR) on Akvo.org.

RSR Project 790 WASH program in Rural Bangladesh	RSR Project 427 Scale up of Sustainable Water Access	RSR Project 446 Etude technique d’avant-projet	RSR Project 158 Rainwater harvesting for Nicolas School	RSR Project 128 Safe water supply for Fayaco, Senegal

RSR Project 398 Rainwater Harvesting Capacity Center

Acknowledgements

Many of the tools, technologies, and projects on this page are courtesy of the Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network.

RAIN is an international network with the aim to increase access to water for vulnerable sections of society in developing countries - women and children in particular - by collecting and storing rainwater.

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.