Watch: How to Make Your Own Rainwater Harvesting Project at Home for Rs 250

A Chennai resident has come up with a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ (DIY) innovation in rainwater harvesting, which helps him save over 200 litres of water in just 10 minutes.

Dayanand Krishnan says he gets municipal water only once a week, which is not sufficient for his family. He also pays almost Rs 1,500 for 6,000 litres of water. To help his family meet their domestic needs, he devised a DIY technique to save rainwater, which requires no plumbers or experts to set up.

The engineer bought a three-foot PVC pipe, two pipe bends and a cloth filter, and used a drum that was lying at home for the project. His terrace, which is spread over 400 square feet, was the collection point to which the pipes were attached. The other end of the pipe was directed to the drum and secured with the cloth filter. “The entire system requires only Rs 150, and can be installed by anyone at home,” Dayanand says.

“Every terrace, and most balconies, have an exit pipe attached, which directs the water out. My trick was only to secure the end of these pipes and get them to collect water in the drums. I also put a cloth filter at the endpoint,” he adds.

Dayanand says that with just 10 minutes of rain, he manages to collect 225 litres of water. This is enough for almost three to four days for his family, which has three members. The family uses the water to wash clothes and utensils, as well as for mopping, and flushing toilets.

Inspired by Dayanand’s DIY project, his friends have also replicated the model at their homes. “The DIY water saving is working equally well for all of them,” he says.

Watch this video to get inspired to make your own DIY rainwater harvesting project at home.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

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