Ferrocement Tanks for Rain Water Harvesting

There are a number of methods that have come up to harvest rain water. One of the modern methods is Ferrocement tanks. Ferrocement is a thin sheet of cement mortar that is reinforced with a cage made of wire mesh and steel bars. Ferrocement is structurally more efficient than masonry. Using suitable moulds Ferrocement components can be casted into any shape. It requires only a few easily available materials like cement, sand, galvanized iron wire mesh and mild steel bars.

The most important thing in water harvesting systems is to store the harvested water in proper containers in hygienic conditions. This need is more importantly felt in areas of high rainfall where water is directly stored and used rather than being used for recharging the groundwater. In small systems the cost of construction of tanks is much higher than of the rainwater collection and piping component. A low cost and easy-to-build solution for low cost containers is provided by Ferrocement.

Ferrocement containers are used to store grain and seeds apart from rain water. Large tanks of 1000-2000 litre capacity are cheaper than masonry, RCC or plastic tanks. Because of their sturdy nature they can be easily transported and are easy to repair. A typical circular pot shaped container can be made with simple materials like hessian cloth, chaff which is a waste from agricultural produce, GI wire mesh, MS bars, cement and sand.

This technology is used in areas with high frequency of rainfall like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala. Many flats in Kerala have installed the rain water harvesting system to save maximum water.