Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting (RRWH)
The most direct fit for schools and institutional buildings — captures runoff straight off the roof for storage or recharge.
Design & Implementation · Rainwater Harvesting
Your school's roof is already a water source. It's just draining away.
Schools with 500–800 students typically use 50,000–100,000 litres a month, often topped up by expensive tanker water in dry months — while thousands of litres of clean rooftop rainwater run off unused every monsoon. Rainwater harvesting closes that gap with a simple, cost-effective system built for the roof you already have. The same designs apply to government and private buildings.
Why it matters
Every dry season, the same water problem repeats itself.
Large rooftops and unpredictable rainfall aren't the problem — an unused roof is. Rainwater harvesting turns a wasted resource into a working supply.
Without rainwater harvesting
Water stress repeats every year
- Groundwater levels falling in nearly 70% of Indian districts (CGWB), while urban water demand keeps rising
- Schools relying on expensive tanker water during dry months just to keep taps running
- Thousands of litres of clean rooftop rainwater lost as runoff every monsoon
- Runoff that isn't captured contributes to waterlogging in the monsoon and scarcity right after it
With a structured RWH system
The roof does the work
- A system sized to the roof and rainfall you actually have, not a generic template
- Captured water reduces dependence on tankers and groundwater through the dry season
- Waterlogging and runoff addressed at the source, not left to drain away
- A working example of water stewardship the whole school or campus can see and learn from
What we build
Six models, matched to the site — not sold as a package.
Most sites end up combining more than one of these. We size the system to the roof, the rainfall and the budget in front of us.
Surface Runoff Harvesting
Captures runoff across paved courtyards, playgrounds and open campus surfaces, not just the roofline.
Storage-Based Harvesting Models
Tank and sump-based storage sized to bridge the dry-season gap between monsoons.
Integrated Rainwater Management Systems
Combines harvesting, storage and recharge into one system designed around the site as a whole.
Eco-based Harvesting Systems
Nature-based components — recharge pits, bioswales, percolation beds — integrated alongside built infrastructure.
Community-Based Models
Shared systems designed for a cluster of buildings or a wider campus/community footprint.
Not sure which model fits your rooftop?
Our technical approach
Built for the building you already have.
Retrofitting design & implementation
RWH systems designed to fit an existing building and roofline, not a new-build assumption — most schools and institutional sites are retrofits.
Nature-based wastewater treatment integration
Nature-based treatment components integrated into the same infrastructure where the site calls for it, rather than bolted on separately.
System sustainability & monitoring
A system that's still functioning correctly two monsoons later, not just on handover day — built in from the design stage, not added afterward.
Community engagement model
The system only works if the community runs it.
A tank and a pipe aren't enough on their own. This is the same cycle behind every CYARI rainwater harvesting engagement — it feeds back into itself as the program matures.
Assessment
Geographical mapping (KAP survey), focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to understand the site and community before any design work starts.
Awareness
WASH training and awareness toolkits, comic workshops, folk songs and community meetings that make the system something people understand and use correctly.
Action
Safe water committees, listener's groups, information kiosks, digital hoardings, mobile applications and water testing kits that put the system into daily use.
Advocacy
Stakeholder meetings, state-level workshops and government engagement that carry the model beyond a single site.
Already running a WASH or CSR mandate?
Why CYARI
Built by the same team that has to answer for it later.
Geography-specific DPRs
Detailed project reports prepared for the actual rainfall, soil and site conditions of each location, not a reused template.
In-house water quality testing
Regular monitoring of harvested water quality, not a one-time check at handover.
System design in AutoCAD
Engineering drawings built to the specific building and roofline being retrofitted.
M&E-based impact assessment
A monitoring and evaluation framework that tracks whether the intervention is actually performing, season after season.
This work is guided by an advisory panel of water-sector academics and specialists. Meet the panel
RWH is often one component of a full Village Development Plan
Questions
Before you reach out.
Is rainwater harvesting only for schools?
Schools are our primary focus, given how much of their water demand and rooftop area goes unaddressed — but the same systems apply to government and private buildings.
How much water can a school actually save?
Schools with 500–800 students typically use 50,000–100,000 litres a month. A properly sized rooftop system captures a meaningful share of that directly from rainfall the building already receives, reducing what's drawn from tankers or groundwater.
What rainwater harvesting models do you implement?
Rooftop RWH, surface runoff harvesting, storage-based models, integrated rainwater management, eco-based systems and community-based models — sized to the site rather than sold as a fixed package.
Do you just install the system, or is there a behavior-change component too?
Both. Alongside the physical retrofit, we run a four-stage community engagement model — assessment, awareness, action and advocacy — so the system is actually used and maintained correctly, not just installed and left.
How do you test water quality?
In-house water quality testing with regular monitoring, not a one-time check at handover.
Can this support a CSR or government WASH program budget?
Yes — we prepare geography-specific DPRs and run the stakeholder and government-facing advocacy work needed to fit into a CSR or WASH mandate.
Is the system monitored after installation, or is it a one-time build?
We run an M&E framework to assess impact after installation, so performance is tracked season after season rather than assumed.
How does this relate to a full Village Development Plan?
Rainwater harvesting is often one component of a broader Village Development Plan. If you're planning at that scale rather than a single site, that's the better starting point.
Still have questions? Message us on WhatsApp
Start a conversation
Tell us about your roof and your budget.
Share as much or as little as you know right now — the site, the building type, the timeline. We'll follow up with a scoping call.
CompanyCYARI Sustainability Solution Pvt. Ltd.
Emailinfo@cyari.in
Phone+91 90847 25108 · WhatsApp
Registered officeKh. No. 128, Mauza Kakua, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, 282009