9. Groundwater Recharging

Where there is scarcity of water, it is understood that the dependability on surface water has almost been lost and that the availability of groundwater is either becoming very limited or costly. In such situation where there is potentiality of rainwater harvesting due to having substantial rainfall, there might be sufficient rainwater for using it for some purposes in building projects other than general purpose of uses of rainwater. Improving the groundwater situation using rainwater is considered to be the most effective way of using rainwater other than the use of rainwater for general purposes. Groundwater recharging is the process by which the prevailing groundwater situation is improved in terms of quantity and quality. Rainwater collecting from various catchments of a building can also be effectively used for recharging groundwater through facilitating its percolation into the ground around the building. There are various ways of recharging groundwater using rainwater. Utmost care is taken so that the groundwater is not contaminated through the process of recharging. In this chapter, the soil parameters influencing groundwater recharging and the various ways of recharging are described elaborately. The precautionary measures to be addressed while recharging are pointed out. Finally, the probable impacts of groundwater recharging around buildings by using rainwater, both positive and negative, are also mentioned herein.