Author – Mr. Lokendra Balasaria, an architect, is actively promoting water conservation and natural farming, in urban and rural areas in Gujarat (urbantreewalks@gmail.com)

• A technically fine tuned soak pit modified and designed for percolation of higher quantity of rainwater run off, long operational life and better safety
• This is best suited for largely paved urban areas where surface runoff has low turbidity. In tight spaces, these can also be easily made under the driveways.
• This can be effective in regions with absorbent sand layers at shallow depths and deeper water table. Fractures in operable layers can allow for larger absorption of water below ground.
• Khabhmati Kuva of larger diameter have been observed to have higher absorption rate and also longer active life. A 25 feet diameter at Bimanagar, Ahmedabad has been in operation now for almost 2 decades with little maintenance. This society has also reported lower TDS in groundwater over the years and also higher water table compared to nearby areas.

For Ahmedabad’s geology, probably one of the most efficient, minimal maintenance and economical solution to rainwater harvesting

In most places, a 10 feet diameter and 30 feet deep well can absorb between 35 to 45 thousand litres of rainwater every hour.