Water harvesting and use this chapter describes methods where surface runoff is collected and stored in dams, tanks, or cisterns, for later use. The construction and use of cisterns to store rainwater can be traced back to the neolithic age, when waterproof lime plaster cisterns were built in the floors of houses in village locations of the levant, a large area in southwest asia, south of the taurus mountains, bound by the mediterranean sea in the west, the arabian desert in the south, and mesopotamia. It involves collection and storage of rain water at surface or in subsurface aquifer, before it is lost. A water harvesting system is composed of a catchment or water collecting area, a water storage structure, and other components such as piping, evaporation control, and fencing. Detailed informa tion is given in the proceedings of two workshops, both in arizona frasier 1975, dutt et al. Rainwater harvesting reduces consumers utility bills. A water harvesting scheme will only be sustainable if it fits into the socioeconomic context of the area as described in the previous chapter and also fulfills a number of basic technical criteria. In doing so, water harvesting assures a continuous and reliable access to water. Rainwater harvesting provides a water supply buffer for use in times of emergency or breakdown of the public water supply systems, particularly during natural disasters. Best practices for water harvesting and irrigation in sudan. Our earth is covered with 75% of water and 25% of land but water scarcity is a global issue because the large extent of water is not used for the domestic purpose, irrigation purpose and one of the solutions for such problem is the rainwater harvesting in the areas of regular rainfall, the perfect alternative to overcome the water.
This old technology is gaining new popularity these days. Global and local climate change affects much on the current water resources status. Wh and smallstorage technologies can also help provide water for domestic use, livestock, fodder and tree production, and less commonly fish and duck ponds. Ministry of electricity, dams, irrigation and water. It used in vitally important sectors of the economy, such as the agriculture sector. Rainwater harvesting case study construction of household rainwater harvesting jars in uganda wateraid has been working to improve household water supplies in a ugandan village where 3,000 people lack access to safe water. Roof top rain water harvesting concrete tank a 16 cubic metre concrete tank situated in the shadow of the house constructed to retain rainwater that collects in the roof guttering. Pdf water harvesting for improved agricultural production. Water harvesting techniques for sustainable water resources. Rain water harvesting is one of the most effective methods of water management and water conservation. Integrated rainwater harvesting practices and household. Emerging practices from agricultural water management in africa and. The catchment or watercollection area can be a roof top, a small land surface, a slope or a larger catchment area feeding seasonal water courses. Conflict over water resources is common in the selected areas, particularly during the dry season when water scarcity often forces people to migrate.
Water harvesting is defined as collection of runoff from catchment area. Water harvesting is the collection of runoff for p roductive purposes. Artificial recharge to ground water is a process by which the ground. The community is heavily affected by hivaids and there are many widows and single occupancy households. A vast number of techniques allow flexibility and adaptability to sitespecific situations to best fight water scarcity and make agricultural production more resilient fao 2015. Feasibility study of rainwater harvesting for agriculture in the. Carbon benefits project cbp wocat training event in delhi, india estimating the impact of land management projects on climate change mitigation this event will train attendees in estimating and reporting the carbon and greenhouse gas impacts of land management activities using. Water harvesting systems for water supply such as haffirs, ponds and rooftop tanks are not covered, nor are largescale water spreading systems spate irrigation. Variability of climate, soils, topography, and water needs require that each system. Assessment of the water harvesting sector in jordan. Hydroponics is the culture of terrestrial plants in water instead of soil and is not considered as aquaculture. Assessment of best practises and experience in water. A water harvesting system is composed of a catchment or water collecting area, a waterstorage structure, and other components such as piping, evaporation control, and fencing.
No single method or system is best suited for all sites or water needs. Certain crops are harvested by hand, while others are harvested either manually or mechanically. Best practices for water harvesting and irrigation in. Fao f ood and agriculture organization of the united nations 1994 water harvesting for impro ved agricultural production. Rainwater harvesting can reduce storm drainage load and flooding in city streets.
Water harvesting in agriculture runoff farming food and. Sustainable water harvesting projects for livestock water in. Water harvesting includes active systems for runoff collection, storage, and forced distribution, but anyone can easily practice passive water harvesting with only an investment of a little effort. Water harvesting wh can be considered as a rudimentary form of irrigation in some areas water harvesting for agriculture is called runoff farming. Water captured by these structures is frequently used for domestic purposes.
The water stored in the dams, for example, has already declined as the capacity of the dam and the rainfall intensity and pattern have changed. Water is an important resource that is used in our daily lives. Rain water harvesting techniques to augment ground water. Water harvesting helps smooth out variation in water availability by collecting the rain and storing it more efficiently in closed stores or in sandy riverbeds. The rain water harvesting may be defined as the technique of collection and storage of rain water at surface or in subsurface aquifer before it is lost as surface run off. It is the term used to indicate the collection and storage of rain water used for human, animals and plant needs. Since then, fao has cooperated and participated in agricultural and rural development. Rainwater harvesting for sustainable agriculture the. In situ water harvesting using simple technologies enables greater water infiltration, temporarily impounds water on the surface of the soil to increase the opportunity time for infiltration, prolongs the availability of moisture to the crop, and enables crop to survive under variable rainfall conditions srinivasarao and gopinath, 2016. Roof top rain water harvesting can be a very effective tool to fight the problem of water shortage particularly in urban areas. Water harvesting applied introduction 29 floodwater harvesting 33.
Our earth is covered with 75% of water and 25% of land but water scarcity is a global issue because the large extent of water is not used for the domestic purpose, irrigation purpose and one of the solutions for such problem is the rainwater harvesting. Technological potential for improvements of water harvesting. Rainwater harvesting is a type of harvest in which the rain drops are collected and stored for the future use, rather than allowing them to run off. Rainwater harvesting helps utilities reduce the summer demand peak and delay expansion of existing water treatment plants. Both yields and reliability of production can be significantly improved with this method. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of rainwater harvesting is learning about the methods of capture, storage, and use of this natural resource. A manual for the design and construction of water harvesting schemes for plant production. The augmented resource can be harvested in the time of need. China, conservation tillage, conventional tillage, rainfed agriculture, tunisia, water harvesting, water saving contents 1. Flood water and runoff from ephemeral rivers, roads and hillsides is captured through temporary stone and earth embankments. Timber harvesting guidelines reduce the potential for timber harvesting activities to disturb sensitive sites, rare species, water features and unique habitats. Water harvesting wh can be considered as a rudimentary form of irrigation in some areas water harvesting for agriculture is.
Water harvesting as part of integrated water resource management 6 classification and categorisation 7 benefits and constraints. The greatest potential increases in yield are in rainfed areas where many of the worlds poor live and where managing water is the key to. Passive water harvesting is the practice of directing and capturing or slowing runoff to water plants usually by simple soil grading. Runoff and floodwater farming is a traditionally practiced water harvesting system which helps overcome problems of soil moisture and crop failure in a hot, dry area with erratic rainfall and shallow, highly erodible soils. The manual provides the field worker with selection criteria and detailed technical design, mostly drawn from sub saharan countries, as well as information on field layout and. Conservation techniques conserve water within the biomass and the soil by reducing runoff and keeping the water where it falls, as much as possible. Potential of rainwater harvesting in somalia a planning, design, implementation and monitoring framework technical report no. Water harvesting deals with all methods which manage rainfall and runoff through effective storage in the soil or underground for later beneficial use. Provision of sufficient water for livestock, also utilizes standard rainwater harvesting structures like earth dams, water pan, charcos etc. Water harvesting wh and smallstorage technologies are key water related interventions with the potential to contribute to rapid improvements in the yields of rainfed crops. Proceedings of the fa o expert consultation, cairo, egypt, 2125. Water harvesting is the activity of direct collection of rainwater,which can be stored for direct use or can be recharged into the groundwater. Fao an overview of rainwater harvesting initiatives in agriculture. Published on jan 27, 2015 these guidelines provide an overview of proven good practice in water harvesting from all over the world.
Saharan water harvesting study on which parts of this publication are based. Since 2008, a collaborative effort between fao and other partners in the sub region has created a greater awareness of the possibilities for onfarm rainwater. Water harvesting wh and smallstorage technologies are key waterrelated interventions with the potential to contribute to rapid improvements in the yields of rainfed crops. Water harvesting and good agricultural practices food and.
Macrocatchments for farming are designed to provide more water for crop or pasture land through the diversion of storm floods from gullies and ephemeral streams or roads directly onto the agricultural field. A 16 cubic metre concrete tank situated in the shadow of the house constructed to retain rainwater that collects in the roof guttering. Water harvesting and water saving techniques donald gabriels, wim m. Hand harvesting usually provides a better quality product than mechanical harvesting. Water harvesting food and agriculture organization of the united. Assessment of best practises and experience in water harvesting. Rainwater can be collected from rivers or roofs and redirected to a deep pit well, shaft, or borehole, aquifer, a reservoir with percolation, or collected from dew or fog with nets or other tools. Water harvesting techniques gather water from an area termed the catchment area and channel it to the cropping area or wherever it is required. By concentrating rainfall runoff in winter and during storms, water harvesting. Erosion control and recharge of ground water are additional advantages of water harvesting techniques. The water harvesting concept water harvesting is the capture, diversion, and storage of rainwater for many uses abdo and eldaw, 2004. Good in situ soil and water conservation practices. W09 oct 2007 somalia water and land information management ngecha road, lake view. Cornelis and wouter schiettecatte department of soil management and soil care, ghent university, belgium keywords.
An effective water conservation practice in mango syed mazar ali, kamala bai. The augmented resources can be harvested whenever needed. Roof top rain water harvesting depends upon the amount of rainfall and the roof top area. Some of the very earliest agriculture, in the middle east, was based on techniques such as diversion of wadi flow spate flow from normally dry watercourses onto agricultural. Water harvesting water harvesting is the harnessing of rain or groundwater for agricultural purposes. Zai pits are shallow, wide, circular pits that combine water. Sustainable water harvesting projects for livestock water.
Rainwater harvesting technologies for agricultural. States, thus enabling a better understanding of livestock water harvesting wh in the green belt livelihoods zones. Provision of sufficient water for livestock, also utilizes standard rainwater harvesting structures like. The roof top rain water harvesting system using a concrete tank was designed to improve household access to water for irrigation of kitchen garden plots during the hot and dry summer months. Nevertheless these multi purposes structures will not be treated in detail further in this handbook. Large storage tanks may be required seasonal and interannual variations possible pollution of rainwater. The fao country representation office in egypt was opened in 1978. Compared to agriculture which is thought to have started about 10 000 years ago, the. Figure 16 contains a flowchart with the basic technical selection criteria for the different water harvesting techniques.
Rainwater harvesting seminar and ppt with pdf report. Water harvesting water harvesting is defined as collection of runoff from catchment area. Various forms of water harvesting wh have been used traditionally throughout the centuries. Water harvesting aglmisc1791 a manual for the design and construction of water harvesting schemes for plant production by will critchley conservation agronomist centre for development cooperation services free university, amsterdam and klaus siegert water resources engineer land and water development division fao, rome.
Water harvesting for dryland agriculture is a traditional water management technology to ease future water scarcity in many arid and semiarid regions of world. May 29, 2017 rainwater harvesting for sustainable agriculture. Water harvesting is technology to increase food security in drought prone areas. Ministry of electricity, dams, irrigation and water resources. Water harvesting has been practiced for centuries in the region, and a number of systems based on local knowledge are still in operation such as jessour and meskat in tunisia, tabia in libya. Provision of inexpensive water, where there is inadequate groundwater supply or surface resources recharge of groundwater control of soil erosion and prevention of flooding limitations. Layout of the pilot scheme in kinoni, mubende district, uganda l.
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