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Rainwater harvesting · Gurugram · societies

Rainwater harvesting for housing societies in Gurgaon

Almost every society in Gurgaon has rainwater harvesting pits, because the occupation certificate needed them. Many stopped working within a few monsoons: the sand sealed with silt, the filters clogged and the bores choked. Gurugram pumps out 195% of the groundwater that can safely be taken out each year, so for a society that runs on borewells, pits that work are the cheapest water it can get. TerraSetu audits, repairs and maintains them for RWAs, maintenance agencies and builders.

Reviewed by Mohit Parmar, Civil Engineer, TerraSetu · Last checked

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Why society pits stop working

  • Silt from the podium, roads and gardens comes in with the roof water and seals the top layer of sand. The pit then fills, overflows into the drain and recharges almost nothing.
  • Filter chambers are never opened, so leaves and plastic block the inlet and water bypasses the filter altogether.
  • Recharge bores that were drilled short, or not drilled at all, never reached the water-bearing layer.
  • Pits were covered by later landscaping or parking, and the maintenance team no longer knows where they are.

What our audit covers

  1. Find every pit

    We match the approved drawings with the ground, open each cover and mark every pit, filter and bore on a site plan.

  2. Test each one

    We measure silt depth and media condition, check the inlet and overflow levels, and pour-test the bore to see whether it still takes water.

  3. Report and price

    A report with photos and a status for each pit (working, needs cleaning, needs new media, needs a new bore) and a priced repair list the managing committee can approve.

What repairs cost

WorkCost before GST
Replace the media of one pit (boulders, gravel, coarse sand)₹8,000 to ₹12,000
New filter chamber on a downpipe line₹12,000 to ₹20,000
New recharge bore, 120 ft, in an existing pit₹36,000 to ₹60,000
A complete new recharge point with a 120 ft bore, with GST₹1.1 lakh to ₹1.7 lakh

Material and work at the same rates as our cost pages. Desilting labour and carting are priced after the audit, by the number of pits and how much silt they hold.

New systems for large roofs

For a new tower, an extension or a society that never had working pits, priced with 120 ft bores and 721 mm of rain a year.

BuildingRoof areaRecharge pointsWater put back a yearCost with GST
Society tower block, school or small factory2,000 m² (21,528 sq ft)812,25,700 litres₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh
Mid-size society or factory5,000 m² (53,820 sq ft)1830,64,250 litres₹18 lakh to ₹28 lakh
Large campus, society or plant10,000 m² (1,07,639 sq ft)3661,28,500 litres₹36 lakh to ₹55 lakh

Ranges for budgeting. Podiums and roads add to the catchment and usually need a desilting chamber before the pit.

Yearly maintenance

  • May: open every pit and filter, remove leaves and silt, rake or replace the top sand and clear the inlet and overflow, before the monsoon reaches Gurugram in late June.
  • After the first heavy rain: check that each pit drains within a day. A pit still full after 24 hours needs its media or bore looked at.
  • October: desilt the chambers and record each pit's condition for the society's file.

Groundwater permission for societies

Under the Haryana Water Resources (Conservation, Regulation and Management) Authority, every industry, infrastructure project and mining project that uses groundwater needs the Authority's permission. Infrastructure includes hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants, malls, clubs and housing societies. Where the water level is deeper than 8 m, which is most of Gurugram, the application needs a rainwater recharge proposal. Where it is shallower, roof water has to be collected in a lined tank and reused instead.

We prepare the recharge design, drawings and as-built record that go with the society's application or renewal.

How the water travels, from roof to aquifer

Rain on your roof runs to the downpipe. The first-flush diverter throws away the dirtiest first rain, the filter chamber cleans the rest, and the clean water goes into the recharge pit and down the bore to the water-bearing layer. Any extra overflows to the drain.

Flow diagram of a rainwater harvesting system: roof, downpipe, first-flush diverter, filter chamber of gravel, charcoal and sand, recharge pit with an overflow to the drain, and a bore down to the water-bearing layer
The complete flow, from roof to aquifer, not to scale.

The standard design we build

Every recharge point we build follows this design. Roof water passes a first-flush diverter that throws away the dirtiest first rain, then a filter chamber, and enters a brick-lined pit filled with boulders, gravel and coarse sand. At the bottom of the pit it goes into a slotted pipe wrapped in mesh, rising to a removable cap at the cover, down a sealed casing to the water-bearing layer your borewell draws from. The drawing below shows the pit and the pipe connection.

The drawing and the bill of quantities below are what you receive before work starts, sized for your roof after the survey. Check them against any other quote line by line.

Section drawing of a 2 m by 2 m by 2.5 m recharge pit with coarse sand, gravel and boulders. A pipe runs from a removable cap at the cover down through the layers, slotted and wrapped in mesh where it passes the sand, gravel and boulders, is sealed with clay or cement grout below the pit, continues as plain 150 mm casing, and ends in a slotted section in the water-bearing layer. A close-up shows the slots, mesh and cap.
Our standard recharge point, in section, not to scale. The bore depth shown is typical; sizes and depth are fixed for each site after the survey.

Sample bill of quantities for one recharge point in a Gurugram society

ItemQuantityAmount before GST
Recharge pit 2 × 2 × 2.5 m: excavation, honeycomb brick lining, PCC base, RCC cover with manhole1 no.₹28,000 to ₹38,000
Pit media: boulders, gravel and coarse sand in layers1 pit₹8,000 to ₹12,000
Recharge bore, 150 mm, with slotted PVC casing (₹300 to ₹500 a foot)120 ft₹36,000 to ₹60,000
Filter chamber: gravel, charcoal and sand1 no.₹12,000 to ₹20,000
Downpipe connections, mesh guards, first-flush diverter and overflow1 lot₹8,000 to ₹15,000
Total before GST₹92,000 to ₹1.4 lakh
Total with 18% GST₹1.1 lakh to ₹1.7 lakh

Civil work at the CPWD Delhi Schedule of Rates 2023 plus 10%, the rest at market rates, with a 120 ft bore. A bigger roof needs more pits, but one filter and pipe set can serve several. Price your own roof with the recharge pit calculator.

Where we work

Societies across Gurugram: Golf Course Road and Golf Course Extension, Sohna Road, the DLF phases, the New Gurgaon sectors along Dwarka Expressway and NH-48, and Sohna. We also work in Delhi, Faridabad and Noida.

Check the numbers for your area

Frequently asked questions

Our society's rainwater harvesting pits overflow. Can they be fixed?

Usually yes. Most overflowing pits are sealed with silt or have a choked bore. Desilting, new media and a flushed or new bore bring them back, at a fraction of the cost of new pits.

How often should society pits be cleaned?

Once before every monsoon, in May, and once after it, in October. Pits fed from podiums and roads may need a check after each heavy storm.

Does a housing society in Gurgaon need groundwater permission?

Under the Haryana Water Resources (Conservation, Regulation and Management) Authority, every industry, infrastructure project and mining project that uses groundwater needs the Authority's permission. Infrastructure includes hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants, malls, clubs and housing societies. Where the water level is deeper than 8 m, which is most of Gurugram, the application needs a rainwater recharge proposal. Where it is shallower, roof water has to be collected in a lined tank and reused instead.

Do you offer an annual maintenance contract?

Yes. After the audit we quote a yearly fee for the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon cleaning of every pit, with a report for the society's records each time.

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