Used plastic barrels method - low cost
and simple option to effectively recharge ground water around a house*.
Rainwater from the roof of a building may
be allowed to flow through a “PopUp Filter” to recharge ever dwindling ground
water.
PopUp filter will remove floating elements and the
silt present in the roof top rainwater.
Relatively cleaner water comes out of the filter and is allowed to flow
into groundwater recharge gallery.
The groundwater recharge gallery is created by using
used plastic oil/chemical barrels (blue coloured drums sold on the road side
for construction activities etc.).
Process: Identify an open space around a building to
create barrel system of infiltration gallery. Excavate earth to a depth of 6
ft. from the ground level. The width of excavated pit must be slightly more
than the diameter of the plastic used oil barrel (around 1¾ ft. or 21 inches)
Length of the excavated pit must be equal to number
of barrels used multiplied by diameter.
For example a four barrels infiltration gallery will have an excavated
pit of 21 inch X 4 nos. = 84 inch or 7 ft. (length)
Procure the required number of plastic barrels
(capacity about 200 ltr) and cut open one side of all the barrels.
Drill two holes, with diameter slightly more than
that of rainwater down pipe (4 or 5 inch as the case may be) at the bottom end
of the barrels on opposite sides. Install empty barrels, so prepared, in the
pit with their cut open side facing downwards. Align all the barrels in one
line with the side holes facing each other.
Insert a pipe of 12 inch length to interconnect two neighbouring
barrels.
Guide the roof top rainwater pipe connected to the
outlet of the Popup filter to the first barrel.
Connect a similar pipe as overflow to the last barrel and leave the
outlet of this pipe to the drain outside the building. Make sure a cap with
perforations is fitted to prevent rats or insects from entering the overflow
pipe at the drain. Also make sure that the over flow pipe end is at a level
above the normal water flow level in the drain. Fill up the excavated pit with
soil leaving the barrels and the connecting pipes undisturbed. Once the soil
over these barrels stabilizes, activities like gardening, cement flooring,
light vehicle parking etc. can be taken up.
Rainwater flowing from the PopUp filter flows into
these barrel system of infiltration gallery and recharges groundwater.
Many open wells and bore wells or tube
wells have got a new lease of life after adopting the barrel system of
infiltration.
* System developed by AR Shivakumar
* System developed by AR Shivakumar
Note: Barrel system should not be tried in
the areas with very low porosity in the soil (black cotton soil), place where
the water table is already high and places with hard rocky ground with shallow
soil cover.
