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View Poll Results: Do you harvest Rain water ?
Yes 66 44.00%
No 14 9.33%
I will do in future . 68 45.33%
I dont need it . 2 1.33%
Voters: 150. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 27th April 2010, 09:46   #16
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Hi Girish, thanks a lot (belated!), for the link. It gives a lot of useful info.

Having an RWH tank at a level higher than ground floor will definitely eliminate the need to re-pump the rain water upwards to the overhead tank, and thus save electricity. This water I plan to use for car cleaning, gardening etc.
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Old 27th April 2010, 10:02   #17
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Its good to see that there's an increased awareness of the issues around this very critical resource! Bangalore has had it easy so far, and we've managed to kill our lakes, a river and unashamedly depend on a river 100kms away and 500mts below us to pump water for us at almost 34/- per kilolitre. If we just harvest rain, and manage what we have better, we can correct this to a great extent.

The Rainwater Club has (@rainwaterclub on Twitter) been doing a lot for implementations, awareness and govt lobbying over the last decade. They should be able to help with design, installations even for apartments and industries. Grey-water management is another important aspect of responsible water usage, as is understanding and optimizing one's consumption patterns.
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Old 4th May 2010, 08:16   #18
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Cost+details of RWH filters?

BWSSB is likely to extend the last date for implementing the rainwter harvesting by another one to three months.

We have an open well at the back of our house and plan to implement the Ground Water Recharge of Open Wells. It will involve joining all the four rainwater drains from the rooftop and routing it into the well. There will be a filter in-between and there will also be a control valve to limit the water discharge into the well and discharge the excess water out. This is what I have understood.

The plumber whom we contacted is quoting Rs.6500/- for the filter. We smell a rat here. Is it so costly? What exactly does the filter contain? Has BWSSB type-approved the filters that should be used? If so what is the cost and where does one get it in Bangalore?

Any information from Bangalore-based BHPians who are in the know is most welcome and may help others too in implementing the harvesting system. Thanks in advance.
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Old 4th May 2010, 13:26   #19
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Rainy filters

I gathered some useful information from the web.

There is a Chickmagalur-based Farmland Rainwater Harvesting Systems who manufacture the "Rainy Filters". Their marketing office is in Jayanagar, Bangalore.

There are two filters Rainy FL 150-1 to cater for a roof area of 150 square meters and Rainy FL 250-1 to cater for 250 square meters of roof area.

My main aim was to find out the cost of the filter. This is the information I got.

FL 150-1 will cost Rs.6550/-. They are also in the list of BWSSB authorised plumbers/agencies to carry out the rain water harvesting installation. They will visit the house, carry out an inspection and then will give a quote for all the materials and labour. They will charge Rs. 1500 for this. Even if you do not accept their quote and entrust the work to them, this Rs.1500 will be adjusted in the cost of the filter, if you buy it from them.

Their website: ::.. Farmland ..::.. Rainwater Harvesting ..::

Isn't it nice ! No need to haggle with third class and rate plumbers. Their contact info as it appears in the BWSSB website

Vijayaraj, Farm Land Rainwater Harvesting Systems Jayanagara 8th Block 9448130524

There is another contact number which I noted from their website: 9448076595.

When the phone was ringing for a long time I disconnected. Mr. Vijay rang me up within 5 minutes. No doubt I was impressed.

I am still to decide whether I will go with them or go with our regular area plumber ( a nice swindler, but again we have to call him for any emergency repairs - not that he attends immediately anyway )

Last edited by Ponmayilal : 4th May 2010 at 13:34.
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Old 4th May 2010, 14:11   #20
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Guys one more thing .I almost decided to dig up a tank in my house for rain water harvesting , but some thing came up . VASTU .

Yes the water tank (underground or borewell) needs to be at north east corner of the property only .This has got me into a fix and I am researching what else can be done and where can I store the water . I don't have free space in this corner .

Look into vastu before doing any digging into your house .If you don't believe in it ..well ...

Last edited by black12rr : 4th May 2010 at 14:13.
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Old 4th May 2010, 14:56   #21
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The list of approved plumbers/contractors well-versed in rain-water harvesting is available in BWSSB website. The friendly neighbourhood chap could be selected from this link:

:: Welcome To BWSSB >>
 
Old 4th May 2010, 20:40   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J.Ravi View Post
The list of approved plumbers/contractors well-versed in rain-water harvesting is available in BWSSB website. The friendly neighbourhood chap could be selected from this link:

:: Welcome To BWSSB >>
Yes, BWSSB says that they have been trained but how effective that training was and how much these plumbers have absorbed it, remains a big question mark. Most of the plumbers are illiterate ( or can only read the local language ) and cannot go through and understand the detailed installation instructions given with a costly product (mostly in English) ( In RWH the filter is the costly and speciality product)

Our friendly neighbourhood "shark", for example, can only install the cheapest Parryware Slimline W/Cs and always recommends it. Give him a costly W/C that comes with detailed installation instructions, one cannot expect him to do a perfect job. I have personally known many people finally calling for Parryware technicians to fix the leaking W/Cs. When we renovated our bathroom my father had a tough time with the contractor fixing the bathtub (oh, he hadn't done one before) and with this plumber. When fixing the W/C, he took over from him and personally installed it after going through the instructions. So much for their expertise if one wants to believe them.

This is one reason why I am toying with the idea of employing professional hands like the Farmland Rainwater Harvesting Systems. They are also authorised by BWSSB and the filters used are their own products. They have executed the projects for many residences, offices and industry notable among them being WIPRO, Peenya. While their charges may be a little more, we are of the opinion that these plumbers extract no less and are only capable of sub-standard half-baked jobs. (For routine jobs however one can go with them, but I do not think RWH is a routine job for them)

Bangalore-based BHPians who want to get the RWH done, may please go through their website ::.. Farmland ..:: in detail and give their comments. ( As indicated in my earlier post, my first contact with them was only to-day through phone, and I have no commercial interests in their activities or business deals and this subject is brought purely for discussions since we now seem to have more time with BWSSB inclined to postpone the time limit )

Last edited by Ponmayilal : 4th May 2010 at 20:44.
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Old 4th May 2010, 21:03   #23
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WWW.cseindia.org

Go to the above web site. it has lot of info. they have published a book on RWH long back. most of the firms which came up now wants to loot customers due BWSSB rule. RWH is very easy to do.

If one wants to use RW for drinking purpose -- use proper filter

If it is for use in washing not drinking simple sponge will do the needful. just put a Y shaped outlet to drain pipe. one end connected to sump and other one open with valve to control flow. leave out the initial rain water and then close the valve

For drinking water one can follow oldest method described in class books. like take big drum(blue plastic one) fill it with layers of sand, pebbles, coal etc with cloth or any sieve at the receiving end. pebbles at the top followed by coal, brick pices and sand , sieve to sump.

One has to replace the these things once in a year or so.

In 2005 we got a quote of 65K for our Apt. this includes digging of 20 ft X 3 Ft pit for recharging the ground water, 4 float valves, all piping etc. from a person referred by Mr Viswanath of Rain water club.

In our Apt we just connected all the drain pipes with horizontal pipes the water was directed to 2 X2 X 2 pit at the bottom. from the top of this pit it was connected to sump. In between we have put a sponge filter. we use this water for bathroom purpose as have seperate overhead tanks fro bathroom and kitchen and three sump tanks. it cost us around 25-28 K

Last edited by rkg : 4th May 2010 at 21:05.
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Old 4th May 2010, 21:47   #24
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We have 4 blocks in our apartment complex. We have RWH just for one block. For 1 hour of good rain we are able to collect 20,000 litres of water. We use a pop-up filter for filtering the water. We collect the water in a Sintex tank and then pump it into the sump for normal use.

We plan to do the same for all the blocks before the monsoon hits us.

We estimate collecting 50,000 litres of water easily during a good downpour of 2 hrs or so.

This will save us a lot of electricity in terms of borewell motors and also preserve the ground water.

We are already the only apartment complex in our area to be entirely self sufficient. We do not get BWSSB water nor do we buy.

And by the way we have 208 apartments in our complex !!
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Old 4th May 2010, 22:51   #25
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Whatever rain water harvesting method is adapted, one has to keep in mind that it has to be finally certified by BWSSB as meeting the Bangalore Rain Water Harvesting Regulations 2009. See it here .

These regulations are vague and does not specify the component parts in detail or approved filters to any degree of precision.

While one is free to do as he likes - after reading umpteen books and countless websites on that subject - any such installation not specifically done by the certified plumbers/agencies who are supposed to know the specifics is likely to be examined more critically by BWSSB. Please do remember that once you have got RWH done you are supposed to register the fact with your BWSSB office and the installation is liable for inspection.

Therefore, IMHO , it will be better to go by the 'devil's dictates' and get it done by the certified personnel rather than doing it on your own if one wants to avoid any hassles.

@ rkg, If any firm or agency has come up all of a sudden out of nowhere just to exploit the BWSSB rule and fatten their bellies at the cost of the consumer, by all means name it and we will shun it. Do you find one in the BWSSB list?

Last edited by Ponmayilal : 4th May 2010 at 22:53.
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Old 5th May 2010, 16:20   #26
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This Bangalore based guy ( Citizen Matters, Bangalore:Vishwanath: ''Plug leaks, check illegal connections and recharge groundwater'') has a ton of information here Rainwater Club - Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Grey water, recycling. Also there is a handy calculator to understand the kind of water that can be collected (Karnataka Taluk-wise Rainwater Calculator). Also see the downloads tab at the top for ideas.

BWSSB also has some info, including contact of trained contractors RainWater Harvesting - BWSSB

Last edited by vishwas : 5th May 2010 at 16:24. Reason: link description
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Old 5th May 2010, 21:41   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponmayilal View Post
@ rkg, If any firm or agency has come up all of a sudden out of nowhere just to exploit the BWSSB rule and fatten their bellies at the cost of the consumer, by all means name it and we will shun it. Do you find one in the BWSSB list?
The firm quoted by you "farmland is definitely of new origin. But no where in my post i have said to ban X or Y or Z company. what i have said is RWH is not greek and latin any one can do it with the help of plumber.

I would like to clarify one more thing here

"Mr Viswanath is pioneer in Bangalore doing it for the last several years may be even more than decade. Some of filters made by him are available for rs 2200 or some thing like that.
I have personally talked to him.

when we did it our apt complex i have extensively studied the issue.
the book by CSEINDIA " making water everybody business" is a good reference book.

what iam seeing is all of sudden lot of advertisements in papers with filters for RW costing few thousands. where are these guys two years back? why all of a sudden. because BWSSB has made it mandatory so they want make hay while sun shines.

RW can be harvested for either recharging the ground water or use directly.

For using directly only, one needs filters. for recharging no need for any filter any one can do. dig a pit and direct all roof top water to it thats all.

For reuse also normal sponge will do if one is using it only for washing and cleaning purpose.

anyway almost every family is using some or the other branded water purifiers for drinking water purpose.

Last edited by rkg : 5th May 2010 at 21:45.
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Old 5th May 2010, 22:13   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by black12rr View Post
Water will be more precious than gold in future , I think so !
When can I expect this to happen?
I am planning to buy 5 1 litre bottles of Bisleri & keep in my safe deposit locker. If it becomes more precious than gold, I should be able to sell it for Rs. 1 crore

Last edited by carboy : 5th May 2010 at 22:16.
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Old 6th May 2010, 07:44   #29
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If I provide a 2000 litre storage tank for re-using the rainwater, do I still need to install the groundwater re charge hardware (cement rings / sump) as per rules ?
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Old 6th May 2010, 11:41   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rkg View Post
The firm quoted by you "farmland is definitely of new origin.........
Going by the list of clientele (that includes Konkan Railway Corporation - all stations - Karwar Division) and the photo gallery showing pictures of their installation at various places (not only in Bangalore), as given in their website ::.. Farmland ..::.. Rainwater Harvesting ..:: , I am of the opinion that they are not a new entity that has pitched the tent in Bangalore recently. I would appreciate if you can give any definite information of their recent origin for I do have them in mind for executing the installation at my residence (open well recharging - water used for drinking when BWSSB fails to deliver) and also by virtue of their being in the BWSSB authorised list.

The filters manufactured - not of the made to order type the availability of which on demand is suspect - by them may be costly but that is a different issue.

On the other hand, the "VARUN" developed by S. Vishwanath - approximate cost Rs.2250/- (see it here) appears to be a very bulky -and hence not suitable for wall-mounting along the line - "made to order" type that may not be available off-the-shelf (especially when there is a heavy demand) for any one wanting to buy when implementing the RWH. Do correct me if I am wrong and let the Bangaloreans know where one can see it, feel it and buy it when required. Also his name or agency cannot be found in the list of BWSSB authorised plumbers/agencies notwithstanding his other credentials as an expert, enthusiast and whatever. Again, I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

Last edited by Ponmayilal : 6th May 2010 at 11:53.
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