Build Water Self Sufficiency with Rooftop Harvesting

In this new series titled Sustainable Home, we will take you through a series of videos on how to build a sustainable home. At Aanandaa, we are building an innovative and creative home, which is as sustainable as possible.
An essential feature of a sustainable house is rooftop rainwater harvesting. In our #sustainablehouse, we have designed a simple #waterharvesting system, which allows us to harvest upwards of 100,000 litres of water each year.
You may not be aware of how much rainwater is falling on your rooftops, and simply making its way to the drains. If you would like to know how much water you are getting, use this simple formula.
Rooftop Area (in sq m) x Annual Average Rainfall (in mm) x Runoff Coefficient of the material used on your rooftop = Total Rainwater you receive annually (in Litres).
In our sustainablehouse, the rainwater makes its way to the drain, which descends down to the ground level, and through many interconnecting chambers makes it way to the rainwater filter.
The rainwater filter is made of alternating layers of gravel and gro textile. The rainwater falls to the bottom of the rainwater filter, and gets cleaned in the process. The clean water rises to the top, and through the outlet pipe, enters the rainwater harvesting tank.
Once the rainwater harvesting tank is full, it pumps this water into the triple tank (which is the larger tank) and in turn, it pumps water into the overhead tanks.
When the tanks fill up to the brim, the overflow finds its way to our ponds. We can see the overflow clearly, indicating to us that the rainwater tanks are FULL.
You will be amazed at how much water is falling on your rooftops. Why don't you calculate an approximate volume, and share it in the comments section. Maybe you can think of a way to harvest the water from your rooftop too?
Subscribe to our channel to stay tuned into more videos around sustainable home.

[@njaanaa645]

Missed Aananda for last 3 months…. thank u for coming back 🥰

[@farmaanandaa]

Promise to not disappear again!

[@gobhatia123]

Planning to build a 1000 sq ft cottage on my farm after the monsoons this year. For Madhya Pradesh, my water math would be 93 sq m X 1208 mm X 0.8 = 89778 liters of water. That is 246 liters of water a day (including rainy days) in a year. Wow. I feel like I have wasted all the water that could have been harvested all these years.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks for sharing the calculations. Its mind boggling, isn't it?!

[@kiranm3184]

Glad to see a successful rwh system. Though am yet to harvest rain water directly for consumption, I have ensured the rain water is directed to our open well which has been dried since many years; to recharge ground water rather than letting it down the drain

[@mughalkhelkhan9372]

Manisha, what a blessing! I found your videos on KZbin which I am constantly following up now. I have always felt that man has become prisoner of chemicals and iron. Whatever we are wearing has done through a chemical process and even the colours our dresses have are chemically made. And whether we are inside our house or going in our car or working in our office or visiting a shopping mall or we are anywhere inside a constructed structure we are surrounded by iron. The chemicals are not only affecting our minds and bodies but also the eco system of our entire world. And the magnetic ionisation in our body is disturbed due to the pull and push of iron around us. We are not in our normal selves and the pitt is that we do not even know this. If we lived in a house that was constructed with the least use of chemicals and iron our mind and body could at least have been at peace and could have let us escape from the stress that we encounter on a daily basis while being surrounded by chemicals and iron. Besides wearing vegetable dyed clothes I have always wanted to build a sustainable and breathable house for my family that doesn't have so much steel and cement in it. Just like the houses my ancestors used to live in. I am Kamran from Waziristan, Pakistan and appreciate very highly what you are doing for the whole world. God bless you my sister.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you so much for your message

[@Shubhamverma-xn6io]

I'm sooo excited for this video!

[@ChallHatt]

Great. Keep shining.

[@PeepalBaba-Givemetrees]

Wonderful.yhanks for the good work.

[@maisiedesouza6252]

The delay in putting out the video was compensated by the useful information u gave on rainwater harvesting. Thank u very much.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Shubhamverma-xn6io]

I feel so good that your videos are back They're literally an escape into heaven! Glad you got self reliant in shooting videos too 😂😂

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you!

[@sukhdevthakur712]

Thanks for this useful information

[@fasihaazhar7867]

thank you so much for making this..!!!! going to do this ibn my thesis project

[@stylesg7818]

Thank you.

[@SachinKumar-je7dl]

Great idea

[@kapilsinghal7362]

Awesome video

[@drmalaykumarpatel8416]

By seeing and following your videos since long and inspired by your knowledge giving videos I have now owned a 1.21 hectare land for parmaculture. THANK YOU Madam 🙏

[@lusterlighting]

Gujarat ma chhe?

[@gobhatia123]

Thats great. I have a piece of land in Madhya pradesh and want to build something similar to her.

[@rawatalok83]

Such a nice video on water harvesting.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it

[@karanveersidhu7873]

I was eagerly waiting for this kind of stuff

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you Karan. Will start working on next video right away!

[@byteslee1729]

I really love Indian people. (I don't know why) Thanks so much. Whenever I see your videos I click to watch without thinking twice. I am learning a lot. I am 33yr old software engineer but I am about to quit this rat race and go into full-time permaculture. Being stuck with computer screens all day, all week, all months SUCKs.

[@farmaanandaa]

Haha thank you! Wish you all the best for your future journey!

[@suyeshak]

i am so happy to see you back Manisha ji ,was worried and wondering what happened

[@farmaanandaa]

Aww that is so sweet of you. God has been kind, and I have just been busy :-)

[@vishalsingh8376]

Mam water harvesting ka project or method ki kaise filtered water jaye hamare storage tank main uske bhi shots dalo...explanation toh smj aa gya...

[@ritamishra7637]

You are excellent!! Truly inspiring

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you so much 😀

[@gpreuben4861]

Congratulations on shooting on your own. Your maiden attempt is awesome 👏

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you!

[@gobhatia123]

it is so good to see you after such a long time. And encouraging to know you can shoot the videos by yourself. look forward to seeing more of your farm. it is gorgeous. hopefully, one day i can share videos of change on my farm inspired by Aanandaa. We have started with moving away from chemicals this year. Planted green manure (dhanicha) for the first time.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thats wonderful Akash! Look forward to seeing your videos soon!

[@ashugowda5284]

Wow ❤❤❤❤

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks

[@PrabhjotSahi]

Very well executed and great narration

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you

[@rupeshvr3596]

Very informative Madam.... Was waiting long for your videos... Looking forward to start a farm of my own... You are an inspiration for many of us who want to adopt sustainable and nature friendly practice

[@farmaanandaa]

All the best to you!

[@sumitakundu8052]

Really waited a long for your update on the new building.

[@farmaanandaa]

Sorry! Promise to be more regular going forward!

[@JR-ez8hd]

This video is very useful. Will share with my Architect to plan the same. Thanks

[@farmaanandaa]

Please do!

[@Mindy56743]

192,900.5 liters per year. That is way more water than I would ever use even counting watering the animals and the garden.

[@farmaanandaa]

Wow! Thank you for sharing that. Isn't it eye opening!

[@Mindy56743]

@@farmaanandaa it really is. I need to see about getting gutters on the roof and something that can hold the water in the ground. I live in a area that will freeze in the winter

[@ramalingud.n1020]

We have started to collect a water from 150 sq ft room for our rooftop garden.We have drilled the rain water drain pipe at about 5 ft height from ground , attached a one inch pipe of length 2 ft,kept two drums of 200 litre capacity (inter connected) to collect water r. We r using water to garden, washing, etc. This also can be directly let to sump/ well.No need of any filter because we tap water after one or two rains also we let out first few minutes water to drain. The total cost is just under thousand.

[@farmaanandaa]

Sounds like a great system!

[@ramalingud.n1020]

@@farmaanandaa thanks for viewing and yr appreciation

[@De-tw7by]

Keep the good karma to live a sustainable life🙂

[@farmaanandaa]

🙏

[@Arjun1233]

❤

[@angelamarialucianodecampos3098]

Faço captação/filtragem/utilização de água de chuva em minha casa SP/BR 🇧🇷 há 4 anos, desde 2020, para 65% de minhas atividades domésticas. Meus números: 200m2 x 1.350mm x 0.8 = 216.000 litros ao ano. Armazenamento possível: 50.000litros em cisterna e 40.000 em tanques, num total de 90.000 litros.

[@farmaanandaa]

Wonderful!

[@jeanmiranda5877]

💯🤲🏼🙏🏻ALL PRAISES AND THANKS BE TO HEAVENLY FATHER KING GOD ALMIGHTY FOREVER AND EVER. 💯 AMEN 🙏🏻🤲🏼 💯AMEN 🤲🏼🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

Indeed

[@kindgirl3894]

You are God's messenger for Nature protection ☺️

[@farmaanandaa]

That is such a kind thing to say 🙏

[@kindgirl3894]

@@farmaanandaa I'm agriculture student,i feel your Vibes

[@XandZAbhinand]

Please also discuss rainwater harvesting procedure for city Areas like 100 square yard plot or 200 square yard plots and also how to do harvesting in homes which are earlier built

[@farmaanandaa]

Do check out our course on water management, called Water for every Landscaoe on aanandaa.teachable.com

[@Batman-dc8dq]

Please keep doing videos

[@farmaanandaa]

We shall!

[@sheeladevi8319]

mam hindi me bhi video upload kre Farmer english ko nahi smaj pata aap ka permaculture experience farmer ke liye bahut helpful ho skta hai

[@vishnug.r2297]

Please give us vedio every day mam

[@farmaanandaa]

Everyday is difficult Vishnu! But I promise to work towards every week. :-)

[@deepalihebbare8660]

Thanks Manisha ,ws waiting fr ur video,inspired by u we hv purchased land & started permaculture frm this way ,hoping to help other farmers like you Please wd like to know details abt coir as we too r gng to build pond soon & looking fr sustainable sheet

[@farmaanandaa]

Great, congratulations! You can message us on WA and we will share phone number of coir liner company

[@afzalyusufali411]

Loved it What about thatched roofs? Any problems

[@farmaanandaa]

We have used thatched roofs in verandahs and gazebos, but not on the main house. We were not confident of building water proof thatches

[@prashantnarayan2808]

Lovely video. Thanks for sharing it. Just need more details regarding the filtering process. I understand that the filtering tanks are deep with coir and gravel at the base of the tank. Does the water fall from top onto this base? Or us there another tank below the coir and gravel setting wherein the water collects? Could you kindly share some easy diagram on paper. Really appreciate your videos. Thanks,

[@farmaanandaa]

The inlet pipes into the filter are above the outlet pipe as can be see in the video. The water falls into the filter and rises to the top, where it meets the outlet pipe and goes into the water tank.

[@PlugInCaroo]

*The most simple way is to send* the filtered *rainwater into a deep aquefier (bore well).* The *capacity will be much more & cost will be very less*

[@farmaanandaa]

Hmm not sure i agree. Aquifers are best left untouched. Takibg water out is bad enough. Putting it back may be even worse.

[@garimasingh2481]

Hello mam, u r just an absolute inspiration for young people who want to live in a sustainable way. You are clearing all the doubts which a persons thinking of going through this path will encounter. You give the confidence that yes, it is possible. How can I meet you in person and learn more from yo¿

[@farmaanandaa]

That's so nice of you to say. You can come for a farm tour some day or even for a long duration farm stay. You'll find both details on www.aanandaa.com

[@vishalsingh8376]

Kaise construction krna hai woh explain krdo because u tube main kuch khas videos nhi hai isko leke

[@erickkajae]

Thank you for the lovely videos💚💚💚 So enlightening! Does the method you use for filtering your rainwater provide drinkable water or is a separate filtration system necessary. I want to set up a similar system. Thank you so much🌱🌱🌱

[@farmaanandaa]

You will have to filter the drinking water in your kitchen, separately

[@erickkajae]

@@farmaanandaa thank you🌺

[@Samanta1961]

Wonderful. Wanted to know the details of the coir mat you used for lining your ponds and for filtering here . Collectible rooftop rainwater from the building i am staying right now : 240 sq.m.X1100 mmX0.85= 2,22,400 litres. Impressive!

[@farmaanandaa]

Thats a LOT of water. No think about how you can harvest and store it!

[@Samanta1961]

Am staying in a rented portion, but will do something to store some part of the roof top rain water. In our three acres farm we have got 3 small ponds (apart from swales and trenches) dugand they are full to the brim following the recent heavy rains. we need to see how much water and how long these unlined new ponds will retain. Will think about storing rain water in secure tanks and drums there next year. Right now there is no built structure in the farm.

[@Samanta1961]

@@farmaanandaa Wanted to know the details of the coir mat you used for lining your ponds and for filtering here .

[@pritijha5475]

You are a inspiration for many like me. Planning to visit your heaven very soon. Mam, What are the dimensions of your both water tanks?

[@farmaanandaa]

One is 14 x 7 x 7 - this where the rainwater pools first. The larger one is 45 x 7 x 7 which is where we store water for longer paeriods.

[@xoxliltina12xox]

Can you share more on the source of your mats?? What is it made of? Like a burlap? Did the one in your pond decompose?

[@farmaanandaa]

Its made of 85% coir and 15% polyester. Yes the one in the pond decomposed over time. You can simply google coir liner and you'll find many sources. Alternatively you can email or whatsapp us.

[@namelessanonymous5216]

😲 2125000 liters 😲 from our roof only 🤔 Makes me think of dedicating a whole lot of encatchment roofs/surfaces 🤔 Overflowing excess volume could be flowed into multiple deep bores or tunnels after filtration.

[@farmaanandaa]

Incredible isnt it!

[@sri9959]

Please share more about the work

[@farmaanandaa]

Watch the #sustainablehouse playlist

[@KiranYadav-bi3ye]

Hello ma'am aapke video Sare bahut acche hote hain lekin bus thoda sa English ka rahata hai ki aap Hindi bolenge to Jyada theek lagega Rahega Sabhi log English Nahin samajh paate hain lekin aapko Dekh Kar lagta hai ki sunna chahie

[@farmaanandaa]

Kiran thank you. Asal mein hamare darshak duniya ke kai desho mein rehete hai. Is liye common bhasha english hi banti hai.

[@Majoofi]

Are your tanks made of concrete? Do you add anything or treat it to prevent algae from growing?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes tanks are made of concrete. One place we could not avoid use of cement :-( Algae grows in the presence of light. Tanks are closed and dark

[@Majoofi]

@@farmaanandaa thanks

[@nityanandmishra2922]

Can you please provide some details about the coir lining and from where can we buy the same.

[@farmaanandaa]

Just google online and you will find some sources. Alternatively, you can whats app us on [phone] and we will send you the contact details of the supplier.

[@shahithashafeeq7643]

In kerala we get a lot of rain . We already have rain water harvesting system. But now I know there is a formula for calculating the amount of water which we can collect.

[@farmaanandaa]

Do share your calculations here!

[@shahithashafeeq7643]

We have only small tank for filtration. From that it's directly connected to the well. . We got subsidy from panchayat for rainwater harvesting projects. Its not new here. We made this tank before 10 years.

[@shivakumarh8568]

​@@farmaanandaa dis water abale to drink madam

[@vishnubhat7075]

Madam, For rain water harvesting, filters are available .Do these give pure water, suitable for drinking purposes? Any idea of the brand which is suitable. With regards V.A.Bhat

[@farmaanandaa]

For drinking purposes you will have to put another filter in your kitchen. For every other purpose you can use this water

[@lusterlighting]

After all coming soon over

[@farmaanandaa]

Sorry for the delay .. will not slip up again!

[@mradvats]

got few questions, 1) does the water lose dissolved oxygen if it's stored for longer period and is it still good to drink? 2) does the rain water contain pollutants dissolved through atmosphere or parasites through bird poop? 3) is it advisable to run this water through some filter before using it for drinking? is gravity based filter good enough?

[@farmaanandaa]

Water keeps moving around in the tank and hence does not stagnate. I doubt the rain water has pollutants .. bird poop being the least of them .. but yes you need to keep the roof clean before the rains. Lastly you need a watee filter in the kitchen before deinking this water, though its fit for use everywhere else.

[@tridivraut]

Please make a video of Sustainable House construction.

[@farmaanandaa]

Pls watch all the videos in the Sustainable House playlist

[@tridivraut]

@@farmaanandaa Thanks a lot, Namaskar.

[@Gathonination]

Hi, what size pump do you use to pump water from storage into the house, and do you have a water heater to heat up hot water? How do you connect it to water system?

[@farmaanandaa]

It's 1 HP motor. Water is heated by a solar heater installed on the roof.

[@Gathonination]

@@farmaanandaa Thank you so much

[@chaitanyakrishna8177]

Could you please throw some light on alkaline water. I have seen people talking about addition of trace minerals in water for better health.

[@farmaanandaa]

Will have to study this a bit

[@Ramiz422]

Cement is also have some lime so need to do that.

[@francoismendy2427]

GUPTA,I WANT TO COME IN SENEGAL BUILD HOUSE FOR ME

[@aparnadinesh226]

Can we use this water 4 months after rainy season.

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes. For drinking you will have to filter

[@shuchipanwar3765]

You directly use this water for drinking

[@farmaanandaa]

No we filter it before drinking

[@cloveil]

Can we collect water in concrete tank? How to make it portable without chlorine treatment?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes you can. And then put a simple water filter for your drinking water

[@cloveil]

​@@farmaanandaabut it seems concrete will invariably attract fungus which won't get filtered by regular water filter..are you referring to UV filters?

[@ellikhabbaz]

Please provide an example of your formula 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

If your roof is 5 m x 5m = 25 sq m Rainfall is 1000 mm annually. Then the water collected on your roof annualls is 25 x 1000 = 25,000 Litres

[@Ramiz422]

What was the total cost of your tank?

[@farmaanandaa]

WIll have to calculate that

[@Ultimatefitness360]

आपकी छत का साइज कितना ह जी ?? और बारिश का पानी कितने दिन store रह सकता ह बिना खराब हुए ??

[@farmaanandaa]

आप फार्मूला देखिए जो वीडियो में बताया है

[@Ultimatefitness360]

@@farmaanandaa पानी कितने दिन useable रहता ह वोतो बता दीजिए

[@alien_from_somewhere]

How do you speak such a good English? Share your secret with us so that we can speak like you :)

[@farmaanandaa]

The only secrets i am sharing are those of permaculture and sustainable living 😃

[@rawatalok83]

I want to meet you Ma'am, will meet soon...

[@elangovan1592]

Don't apologize. You owe us nothing.