Harvesting Rainwater to Meet Basic Human Needs

1. February 2008

2. Harvesting Rainwater to Meet Basic
Human Needs
It's estimated that more than one-sixth of the
world's population -- about 1.1 billion people --
lack adequate water supplies and have access
only to non-potable water. A further 2.4 billion
people have no improved sanitation facilities.
The UN Millenium Development Goals will remain a
dream unless poor communities are a part of the
decision making process to manage, control and own
the water source and distribution.
Rainwater harvesting using rooftops and
underground tanks is a traditional approach
established over hundreds of years. Rainfall on
rooftops is collected and channeled into underground
tanks or small reservoirs that can store and provide
enough safe drinking water to meet daily needs for
months.
The success of Barefoot initiatives in rainwater
harvesting and well recharging as part of the collective efforts of rural communities in India have
demonstrated the need to reintroduce traditional, low-cost technologies that communities can implement
themselves.
The Barefoot approach draws upon local knowledge and skills, and involves local people to
administer, supervise and finance their own community development. This helps to reduce
dependency on external aid and creates a sense of local ownership in managing the local water supply.
Constructing Rooftop Rainwater
Harvesting Systems
Constuction of rainwater harvesting systems in The
Gambia will provide clean drinking water to school
children in 6 rural communities.
Working with Riders for Health in The Gambia,
villages of Kankurang and Kanfenkeng now have
rooftop rainwater harvesting systems constructed by
Barefoot Water Engineers trained by the Barefoot
College in Tilonia. Four more rainwater harvesting
systems are under construction in other communities
in The Gambia.
Working with Safer Future for Youth Development
in Sierra Leone, four tanks have been constructed
and UNICEF has approved funding for rainwater
harvesting systems in 4 more schools.
Ten rainwater harvesting systems are also under
construction or already in use in Mali and Ethiopia.
Construction of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting
System in Sierra Leone >>
In 2008, the Barefoot College will be working with
NGO partners in Africa to create community-managed
water systems: in Benin through a small indigenous
organization, in Malawi through CCODE and the
Homeless Federation, and in Mauritania through
Norwegian Church Aid.
Funding for nearly 20 rooftop rainwater harvesting
systems in Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra
Leone, and The Gambia is being provided by ALCAN
(Canada), Art Venture (Singapore), Fondation
Ensemble (France), Het Groene Woudt
(Netherlands), Norwegian Church Aid (Norway),
Skoll Foundation (USA), and UNICEF.
Guidelines for Constructing Rooftop Rainwater
Harvesting Systems >>
Water & Sanitation for Rural Schools

3. Thousands of remote rural schools all over the world
have no water for drinking or sanitation. There are
also no simple hand flushed toilets in these schools
which often prevents girls, who need privacy, from
attending school. When children should be learning
to read and write, they are instead walking long
distances to fetch water during school hours.
Too often, the technical solutions being offered to
meet the drinking water needs of children in primary
and middle schools are not sustainable. The source is
primarily ground water. Its location, extraction and
distribution is prohibitively expensive. It is simply not
possible for all the government schools in any country
to have access to water by relying on groundwater.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the only feasible
answer.
A typical rooftop rainwater harvesting system to
collect 100,00 liters for a remote rural school
requires a one-time investment of between $5,000
and $10,000, depending on whether the tank is
constructed in alluvial or hard rock areas. For less
than 5 to 10 cents per liter, this rainwater
system can provide clean drinking water and
functioning toilets in a school for 6 months in a
drought region.
Ground water recharge is a complementary,
low- cost solution, that can be implemented by the
community. By constructing small dams across dry
tributaries and riverbeds and allowing the
rainwater collected to percolate, it is possible to
replenish wells and aquifers. By channeling surface
rainwater into unused and dry open wells, it is possible to revitalize the thousands of dry hand pumps and
traditional open wells for irrigation. Local people can be trained to repair and maintain their own hand
pumps.
Learn more about Water & Community Development >>
An Appeal to Provide Drinking Water and Sanitation at Remote, Rural Schools >>
Clean Drinking Water for More than
239,000 Children in 7 Countries
For over 20 years, the Barefoot College has worked
with rural communities to develop their own rainwater
harvesting systems and community-managed water
supplies:
· In India, nearly 1300 systems in 17 states with a
total storage capacity of 47 million liters provide clean
water to over 235,000 school children in remote, rural
communities.
· In Afghanistan and 5 countries in Africa, 15 rainwater
systems constructed since 2006 with a total storage
capacity of 1.5 million liters provide clean water to
over 4,200 school children.
Summary of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Systems -
2007 >>
Learn more about project funding for construction of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Schools
using the Barefoot approach >>
The Engineer vs the Community

4. It is an engineering practice all over the world to
collect rainwater in ferro cement tanks above ground -
even though this approach has proven disadvantages.
The disadvantages of above ground tanks are:
· A limited amount of rainwater can be collected - not
more than 20,000 liters.
· The heat of summer cracks the tank so its life span is
limited.
· The taps connected to the tank do not last long. They
break and there is often no one to repair them. Water
runs freely and no one bothers to conserve the water.
· The cost of this type of tank for the amount of water
collected makes this alternative too expensive.
· A private contractor is needed to construct the above ground tank.
Communities relying on their traditional knowledge have demonstrated that it is cheaper, and
more cost effective over time, to collect rainwater below the ground.
The advantages of the Barefoot approach to rainwater harvesting using a below ground tank are:
· More water can be collected - 100,000 liters and more.
· Water will not evaporate since it is underground, and if constructed properly, it will not leak.
· There are no taps. Once underground, water can be pumped through a low cost hand pump so no water is
wasted. Only as much water as the person needs is pumped.
· Underground tank construction is cheaper, only costing between 2 and 10 cents per liter.
· The top portion of the underground tank creates a platform that can be used for meetings or to conduct
night school classes.
There is no question that there is a need to change the mindset among civil engineers. Whether it is in the
mountains or on the plains, the Barefoot engineering approach to rooftop rainwater harvesting is the only
feasible solution for poor communities around the world.
Join the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council >>
Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, December 2007 Newsletter >>