Rainwater harvesting

The inhabitants of this riverine country must realise that they need to save and conserve water

Water is life and unfortunately it cannot be generated but can be preserved. Bangladesh has often faced severe floods during the monsoon season. We believe that there is an urgent need to formulate a comprehensive national policy on water as the country may face an acute water shortage in the not-too-distant future. An increasing population makes it imperative to save each drop of precipitation. As there is a huge rainfall during the monsoon, the storage of rainwater is a great way to address water and food security in the country. Collective efforts for rainwater harvesting, even in irrigated areas by individual farmers at their farms, can bring a revolution in livelihood in this country, along with a solution to the groundwater recharge for future use.

Monsoon has already set in and it is time to store every drop of water, from households to ponds and from ponds to dams. The Meteorology Department can help using its advanced forecasting system to gauge the quantity of rain expected, with reference to time and location. No doubt the biggest source of storing rainwater is by constructing big dams which are imperative on a long term basis to address our current and future energy and water needs.

Even in Dhaka city, considering the natural blessing of rainfall, and the inadequate availability of land spaces, rooftop rainwater harvesting can be the best and sustainable water supply option for its households, offices, commercial and industrial establishments, particularly in the time of an emergency situation (i.e. in the event of the breakdown of supply water) or drought times. And, from this perspective, it is now the need of the hour.

In urban or city areas, rainwater harvesting can be done mainly in two ways:  one is surface runoff harvesting, and another is rooftop rainwater harvesting.

In  the case of surface runoff harvesting: landscapes, open fields, parks, gardens, roads and pavements, driveways and other available open areas of the environment is used to harvest the rainwater.

On the other hand, in the rooftop rainwater harvesting system, rainwater is captured from roof catchments, and stored in reservoirs, and it can be harvested in city’s  household buildings, offices, factories; particularly, where adequate land spaces are not available.  

Groundwater recharge can be done by various techniques such as rainwater harvesting at household level in urban areas, digging more ponds, plugging our flood drains and even diverting our river flows to facilitate artificial groundwater recharge. The most important concern is about water waste. The inhabitants of this riverine country must realise that they need to save and conserve water.

Rainwater harvesting

The inhabitants of this riverine country must realise that they need to save and conserve water

Water is life and unfortunately it cannot be generated but can be preserved. Bangladesh has often faced severe floods during the monsoon season. We believe that there is an urgent need to formulate a comprehensive national policy on water as the country may face an acute water shortage in the not-too-distant future. An increasing population makes it imperative to save each drop of precipitation. As there is a huge rainfall during the monsoon, the storage of rainwater is a great way to address water and food security in the country. Collective efforts for rainwater harvesting, even in irrigated areas by individual farmers at their farms, can bring a revolution in livelihood in this country, along with a solution to the groundwater recharge for future use. Monsoon has already set in and it is time to store every drop of water, from households to ponds and from ponds to dams. The Meteorology Department can help using its advanced forecasting system to gauge the quantity of rain expected, with reference to time and location. No doubt the biggest source of storing rainwater is by constructing big dams which are imperative on a long term basis to address our current and future energy and water needs. Even in Dhaka city, considering the natural blessing of rainfall, and the inadequate availability of land spaces, rooftop rainwater harvesting can be the best and sustainable water supply option for its households, offices, commercial and industrial establishments, particularly in the time of an emergency situation (i.e. in the event of the breakdown of supply water) or drought times. And, from this perspective, it is now the need of the hour. In urban or city areas, rainwater harvesting can be done mainly in two ways: one is surface runoff harvesting, and another is rooftop rainwater harvesting. In the case of surface runoff harvesting: landscapes, open fields, parks, gardens, roads and pavements, driveways and other available open areas of the environment is used to harvest the rainwater. On the other hand, in the rooftop rainwater harvesting system, rainwater is captured from roof catchments, and stored in reservoirs, and it can be harvested in citys household buildings, offices, factories; particularly, where adequate land spaces are not available. Groundwater recharge can be done by various techniques such as rainwater harvesting at household level in urban areas, digging more ponds, plugging our flood drains and even diverting our river flows to facilitate artificial groundwater recharge. The most important concern is about water waste. The inhabitants of this riverine country must realise that they need to save and conserve water.