PROJECT ON RAIN WATER HARVEST IN

ORISSA

Project Report

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the

Master in Business Administration Degree

Under Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Orissa.

By

Adarsh Kumar Pradhan

Roll No.: 200910753 Regd. No.: 0906202036

March, 2011

Under the guidance of

Mr. Sisira Kanti Mishra

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Palur Hills, Berhampur-761008, Orissa, India
DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project topic entitled “Project on Rain Water Harvest in Orissa”
is being submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirements for MBA to NATIONAL
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY under BPUT is a record of work
carried out by me.

The project reports in this topic have not been submitted to any other university or any
institution for the award of any degree.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank all those individuals whose valuable contribution in a direct or indirect
manner in making of this dissertation project.

I express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Sisira Kanti Mishra for his valuable guidance
during my project work.

I would like to thank Mr. Shom Prasad Das, Course Coordinator (MBA & PGDM) for his
help and support.

I am thankful to our honourable director, Prof. Sangram Mudali, for providing us with all
the facilities and inspirations.

I would like to take opportunity to express my gratitude towards all of them who have
contributed directly or indirectly in my dissertation work.

ADARSH KUMAR PRADHAN

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1. INTRODUCTION

Orissa state (1, 55,606 sq. km in geographical area) is situated in the Eastern Part of
the Country comprising of 60% of the total geographical area by forest and the rest (10%) by
plains. Our state falls in one of the rain fed regions in the country and receives appreciable
amount of unevenly distributed precipitation through out the year with peak rainfall during
monsoon period. However, because of the hilly topography, water no longer remains after
rainfall. Tap water from state Public Health Engineering Department is not adequate to meet
the increasing demands of the people even in the urban areas. Acute shortage of drinking
water has been a prominent problem being faced by the people during the past few decades.
In the forest and hills, women have to go a long distance to fetch some water from the rivers /
streams/springs etc.
Roof top rain water harvesting is the technique through which rain water is captured
from the roof catchments and stored in reservoirs. The objective of rain water harvesting is to
make water available for future use and meet the household needs. Among others, some of
the advantages of rain water harvesting might be as follows.

i) It provides self sufficiency to water supply

ii) It provides high quality water, soft and low minerals
iii) The system is less expensive and less expensive which can be adopted
By individuals
iv) In the hilly terrain, rain water harvesting is preferred for adoption Roof top rain
water harvesting comprises of various components such as roof Catchments, gutters to
transport water, pipes (Inlet, Overflow, Outwash and water tap etc ),filter unit, storage tank.
Among the above components, storage tank is the most expensive and critical component and
the capacity of the storage tank determine the cost of the system.

Priority to rain water harvesting in Orissa:-

Our state experiences sub tropical to temperate climate with appreciable special
Variation showing highly contrasting meteorological conditions. The annual precipitation
varies from 2194 mm to 4516 mm as recorded in the western region and 2943 mm in the
South and 1785 mm in the central part of the state. The rainfall is unevenly distributed
Through out the year.

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 Out of the existing houses of the state, about 50% of the houses mostly in the rural
areas consists of galvanized corrugated iron slanted roofed sheets and about 20% houses
mostly in the towns are RCC buildings and the remaining are thatched roofed houses in the
village areas. Most of the community halls, churches, Schools, temples etc have CGI roofs.
CGI sheets are suitable for rain water collection system.
The present study is an attempt to introduce Ferro-cement tank for storage of roof top
rain water and install it in some select places as part of rain water harvesting system in the
region

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2. OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT:-

1. Popularization of rain water harvesting techniques in the state.

2. Introduction of Ferro-cement tank as safe water reservoir

Project Area:-

Our state of Orissa has altogether 30 districts out of which 10 districts are in the forest and
remaining lies in the plains. The area of implementation covered all the districts of the state
i.e. the demonstration based roof top rain water harvesting structures were installed in all
districts including forest.

Broad Methodology and approach:-

i) Review of existing literature

ii) Training of the technical project staff at RRL, CSIR.
iii) Trial construction practice to increase technical confidence of the technology
iii) Actual Fabrication works at select places and installation

a) Steps for actual practical work

- Preparation of base foundation above which the tank is to be kept.
- Preparation of bottom portion of the Ferro cement tank (skeletal)
- Fabrication of body skeletal cage and roof portion
- Fixing of chicken wire mesh in equal distribution
- Fixing of inflow Pipe, over flow pipe, tap, wash out pipe etc.
- Plastering using cement mortar
- Performance test
- Fixing of water collection system (gutters, pipes etc.) to the roof of the building
from where rain water is to be collected and connection of water pipe to the inflow GI
pipe of the Tank to flow rain water into it

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 iv)Training activities for popularization of the programmed such as awareness
training programmers on rain water harvesting during which masons, engineers would
be imparted in depth training on construction of various types of Ferro cement tanks
and they would be provided free hand practical to utilize techniques for fabrication of
Ferro cement water storage tanks.

Works done:-

1. Man power including Project Engineer trained

The Director, RRL, was kind enough to transfer the technology available with
They free of cost on construction of Ferro-cement tank for storage of rain water for the
benefit of the people of Orissa. Hence. The three Project Staffs (one engineer and two
masons) who were engaged in the ongoing project were trained at Regional Research
Laboratory (RRL), CSIR, about fabrication and construction of various types of Ferro cement
tanks for storage of water. In addition, RRL provided scientific literature for further reference
and guidance.

2. Ferro cement water storage tanks

Ferro cement is a strong, versatile, low-cost, long-lasting building material made from a
wire reinforced mixture of sand, water, and cement. A Ferro-cement structure is usually 2-5
cm thick--- much thinner and lighter than poured concrete structures. Ferro-cement structures
have much greater tensile strength and flexibility than ordinary concrete because it has wire
reinforcing distributed throughout the structure.
Ferro-cement tanks consist of a framework of steel and wire reinforcing, which is then
Covered with a cement sand (1: 2 ratio) plaster. They are cost effective, hazard free and have
a long life. They offer complete flexibility in shape. However, a form is often used to provide
the desired shape. Its maintenance cost is less and amenable to repairs in case of local
damage. It can be used as a tank for storage of safe drinking water.

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(Fabrication of skeletal cage of tank)

(Roof cover with man hole (skeletal))

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Advantages of Ferro- cement tanks:

i) The walls are thin, light, and easy for transportation

ii) Normal skills of labor/ mason are required.
iii) It has high degree of impermeability and resistance to cracking
iv) It requires little or no maintenance at all
v) It is economical compared to tanks of steel, concrete or brick.
vi) It can be of any size and shape (rectangular / circular)
The demonstration based Ferro-cement water storage structures for a capacity of 5000
Liters were fabricated and installed at the following 15 select places including 5 hill districts
In Orissa.

The following major criteria were considered for selection of sites for fabrication
And installation of the structures
i) Whether the site / building really needs to have rain water harvesting
Structure and for whom to be installed
ii) Whether the building has suitable rooftop catchments area.
ii) Whether the site where the building exists is a common venue where people
Could easily see the structure, if installed.
iii) Whether it could benefit group of people / community
iv) Whether a local committee / party is willing to take responsibility for
Maintenance of the structure at their own cost after handing over to them.

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(Plastering inside wall of the skeletal body)

3. Details of Fabrication of rain water harvesting structures.

i) Fabrication of Ferro-cement the technical staffs (Engineer and masons) after getting
proper training from RRL, planned to make first attempt to fabricate a tank of Ferro-cement
for a capacity of 5000 liters. However, even though proper training was obtained, still the
masons had fear of fabricating a big tank of about 5000 liters capacity as they seem
themselves to have just started exposing to the new technology. Hence, it was decided to
fabricate two tanks of 7 smaller sizes of 3000 and 2000 liters capacity respectively under a
system that the two tanks are connected by a pipe to flow water from one to another. Hence,
the Ferro cement water storage tank was successfully fabricated and installed as a
demonstration structure of roof top rain water harvesting. Steel / iron rods 6 mm and Roof
man hole cover (skeletal) 8 mm, chicken wire mesh, cement, course to medium sand, water
proof materials, mason’s tools etc. were the materials to fabricate tank. The performance test
was done. The water collected from the roof of the building has been then stored in the tank
and used for domestic needs of the state make visits to the Mender every week for worship
and food. The shortage of water was a common problem faced by the management committee
of the Mender. On their request, the Rain Water Harvesting Structure for a capacity of 5000
liters Not only giving local support, the Thanking Siva Mondale was very keen in taking care
of the maintenance of the harvesting structure being installed at Mooring. The performance of
the tank was tested and found satisfactory. The tank has been used for storage of rain water.

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Quality of water

Whether given water is suitable for a particular purpose depends on the criteria or
standards of acceptable quality for that use. The physical as well as chemical quality of water
is important to decide its suitability for drinking purpose. Various standards are formulated
by National and International agencies such as WHO, ICMR, PHE Committee and all the
standards are recommendatory and provide guidelines for deciding the requirements. Rain
water samples were collected from project sites during the rainy season and analyzed. The
parameter analyzed included ph, conductivity, total dissolved solid, total hardness, calcium,
magnesium, chloride, sodium etc. The analysis was carried out to know range of the
parameters contained in rain water and compare with the standards recommended by various
Agencies.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT:-

i) Introduction and fabrication of Ferro cement water tank at 15 select sites
ii) Giving training to the interested masons and engineers about techniques of
Fabrication and construction of Ferro-cement water storage tanks.
iii) Giving awareness to the public that Ferro-cement tanks are cost effective, durable
And easy maintenance comparative to other water storage devices.

PEOPLES PARTICIPATION:-
The Council received good response from various communities in implementing the program.
Interested local masons and engineers living nearby the construction site sometimes visited
the sites to see and learn the techniques of making Ferro-cement tanks. Where ever the
project team goes for work, the local clubs/community centers /developmental organizations
at local level / Village authorities/ people of the surrounding area provided local support by
providing available rooms free of cost for stay of the project
Staffs (engineer, masons and helpers) during the construction period.

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PROGRESS INDICATORS
i) No. of rain water harvesting structures constructed and installed. (Altogether 15
structures have been fabricated and installed in select places covering all the districts of the
state)
ii) Trainings organized (Two awareness programs / trainings on rain water harvesting
were organized in two years and altogether 46 persons have been benefited from the training)

WORKS TO BE DONE:-
The activities proposed in the original proposal have been successfully performed and
objectives proposed in the original proposal have been fulfilled. Hence no work is left.

SPECIAL FEATURES / HIGHLIGHTS

Since the project was first of its kind so far implemented by this Council in this
Region, encouragement was received from various state organizations including technical
Departments like Manipur Building Centers, PDA etc. Perhaps, the introduction of Ferro-
cement tanks of 5000 liters capacity for storage of rain water seem quite impressive to the
people. Interested individuals as well as NGOs visited the fabrication sites when work
Was in progress and inquired of the cost effectiveness, durability and maintenance cost etc. as
compared to other water storage structures. Sometimes it so happened that local brick masons
and engineering students came to the site and helped the project team by curiosity of learning
the construction techniques. Interaction with the people living specially in the hills has
revealed that in order to solve the problems faced by them due to 23 water scarcity for
domestic use in the hills, rain water harvesting would be the only alternative to be taken up as
house hold program. They further suggested to MASTEC to further implement a house to
house rain water harvesting program by selecting a tribal village as a model village so that the
concept of it may spread to the neighboring villages. During the course of implementation of
the project, visitors had shown interest to construct Ferro cement tanks for private people
with the cost of expenditure to be borne by the interested individuals. However, as it was
beyond the purview of the objectives, it was not done. Instead, they have been suggested to
engage those masons who had already undergone training organized by this Council.

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EQUIPMENTS PROCURRED: Drinking Water Testing Kit

Conclusions / Summary
The following conclusions have been observed from implementing the Project on
Rain Water Harvesting in Orissa supported by DST, GoI, and New Delhi.
i) The region received adequate amount of rainfall. There is need to introduce rain
water harvesting programs as an alternative to provide a solution to scarcity of water for
domestic and drinking purposes in the region.

ii) Fifteen number of rain water harvesting structures have been fabricated and
installed at various select places (Temples/church/community halls/ Schools/Youth Centre
(Club)/ Hospitals) covering all the districts including hills in the State. This has fulfilled the
objectives of introduction of Ferro cement tanks for storage of rain water and installation at
different places as proposed in the original project proposal.

iii) Week long Training programs for the target participants of engineers, masons,
representatives of NGOs, interested individuals etc. on Rain Water Harvesting with emphasis
on construction of Ferro-cement tanks for storage of rain 24 water have been organized two
times as partial fulfillment of popularization of rain water harvesting in the region. Altogether
46 participants have been trained. The participants were really benefited that they could
fabricate various types of Ferro cement tanks of different capacities during the hands on
practical of the training.

iv) Analysis of rain water samples collected from different places has shown that
The quality of the water is within the permissible standard as compared to the standards given
by WHO, ICMR.

v) The hill tribal get water for drinking from available springs or streams in the hills.
However, interaction with them has come across that they find it difficult to get water for
drinking during lean season when the springs are dry. They go a long distance down the

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slopes to get some water from streams or rivers. The hill districts are required to have more
number of structures of rain water harvesting.

vi) Research on identification of appropriate technologies of rain water harvesting

Is suggested to be taken up for further adoption in the hill districts.

vii) It was suggested by some sections of the community that MASTEC should
implement a rain water harvesting programmed particularly in a selected tribal village in the
hill and installing structures in all the suitable houses as a model rain water harvesting village
so that the concept of it will be spread to other neighboring areas and interested persons
might adopt it.

viii) Considering the experience gained from implementing the two years project on
Rain water harvesting and also interaction with peoples at various levels, it was observed that
bigger schemes on rain water harvesting should be implemented in the region. Further, it is
suggested that the State should have a state policy that all the new houses / buildings under
Govt. or private should have a provision for roof top rain water harvesting.

ix) While survey was conducted at various places for identification of feasible sites
for installation of structures, it has been observed that villagers and hill tribes are ignorant of
health and sanitation importance. Hence, it is suggested to organize 25 awareness programs
in all the districts on drinking water for better health care for the people living in the rural
areas and hills.

x) As part of project monitoring activities, the PI has visited all the sites where the
rain water harvesting structures have been installed for monitoring the performance of the
structures and it was found that the Ferro –cement water storage tanks were in good health
and showed satisfactory result. However, some hairline cracks were found developed on the
outside wall surface of the tanks which invited minor repairing. But it did not create any
problems such as leakages of water etc. The Ferro cement tanks may be encouraged in the
region of Manipur for storage of rain water as it is cost effective comparative to other water
storage devices.

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Technical Back-Up Support & Linkages with nearby Institutions

i) Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), CSIR, Jorhat, Assam provides technical

guidance and related literature from time to time as and when required.

ii) The Manipur Building Centre, Imphal provides full co-operation and also
Shared expertise.
(Because MANIPUR was one of the state to initiate and implement this technology.)

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