Has your borewell started running dry? You’re not alone. Thousands of Indian homeowners face this problem every year. One day the water flows strong, and within months, you’re staring at a dry pump and rising tanker bills.

You might notice these warning signs:

• Water flow has become very low, or the motor runs dry
• You get muddy water or air bubbles while pumping
• The borewell gives water only for a few minutes, then stops

If you’re seeing any of these signs, your borewell’s aquifer is depleting faster than it’s being recharged. The good news? You can fix this—and it’s easier than you think.

Why does this happen?

Borewells pull water from underground layers called aquifers. When rainwater doesn’t reach these layers properly, they slowly empty. Concrete roads, tiles, and buildings block rainwater from soaking into the ground. As a result, even heavy rains don’t refill the water below.

According to NITI Aayog, 21 major Indian cities are expected to run out of groundwater by 2025. Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi have already faced severe crises. Learn more about India’s groundwater crisis and why borewells are drying up faster than ever. Recharging your borewell isn’t just about convenience—it’s about water security.

To fix this, we can recharge the borewell—that means sending clean rainwater back underground so it can refill the aquifer and restore water levels.

In this guide, we’ll explore five proven methods to recharge a borewell. Some are simple enough for city homes, while others work better for farms or large plots.

Quick Check: Which Method is Right for You?

• Live in a city apartment or house with limited space? → Rooftop rainwater harvesting
• Have open land around your property? → Direct pit recharge or percolation pits
• Managing a housing society or school campus? → Recharge trenches
• Own a large plot, farm, or hilly terrain? → Check dams or contour bunds

Let’s start with the most practical solution for urban homes.

1. Rainwater Harvesting through Rooftop Filters

This is one of the most practical ways to recharge your borewell—collect rainwater from your rooftop and send it underground through a clean filter system.

How it works

When it rains, water flows from your rooftop into the pipe that normally sends it to the drain. Instead of wasting it, you connect that pipe to a rainwater filter. The filter removes dust, leaves, and small particles, and sends clean water to a recharge pit, Storage tank or directly into the borewell.

What makes rooftop harvesting practical is its simplicity. A 1,000 sq. ft. roof can collect about 50,000-60,000 litres of water during just one good monsoon spell of around 800 mm. Instead of letting it flow into the street, this clean water goes straight underground.

Why this method works well for most homes

The filter removes leaves and debris, so clean water reaches your borewell without clogging it. There’s minimal maintenance—usually just a quick clean after the monsoon season. And unlike pit systems, it works even in compact city plots where digging isn’t an option.

Systems like NeeRain’s patented filtration technology have helped over 10,000+ homes save 150 billion litres of rainwater since 2020. The design ensures almost no water is lost, and installation typically takes just a few hours with a local plumber.

Key advantages: – Works in small urban spaces with limited land – No recurring electricity or operational costs – Keeps dust and contaminants out of your borewell – One-time setup with minimal annual maintenance – Directly recharges the same borewell you use daily

Best suited for:

City homes, apartments with rooftop access, independent houses with existing borewells, and properties surrounded by concrete with little natural soil absorption.

2. Direct Pit Recharge

When there’s open space around your home or farm, direct pit recharge is a straightforward and low-cost way to send rainwater underground.

How it works

A pit—usually 3 to 6 feet wide and about 10 to 20 feet deep—is dug near the borewell. Rainwater from your roof, courtyard, or nearby area flows into this pit. Inside the pit, a few layers of filter materials are placed—pebbles, sand, and charcoal—which prevents impurities and the clean water naturally seeps into the ground and refills the aquifer.

What to expect

This method is simple to set up and only needs a pit, filter layers, and pipes. The natural filtration through pebbles and sand cleans the water effectively, and the pit can handle large volumes during the monsoon.

Important considerations: – Requires open land, so it’s not ideal for small city houses – Needs cleaning once or twice a year by skilled labours to remove accumulated silt – Water can overflow if the pit isn’t designed properly for heavy rainfall

Best suited for:

Independent houses with open space, schools, small farms, community plots, and borewells located near the rainwater collection source.

3. Recharge Trenches

When you have more open space—like a housing society compound, school ground, or farmland—you can build recharge trenches instead of a single pit.

How it works

A trench is a long, narrow pit—usually 1 to 2 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep—dug along the natural slope of the land. Rainwater from the surrounding area is guided into this trench. Inside, we place layers of stones, gravel, and sand. As the rainwater flows through, it slows down, gets filtered, and seeps into the soil, helping the groundwater level rise.

What makes trenches effective

Trenches cover a large area and can collect water from driveways, roofs, and lawns. They reduce water runoff and prevent flooding during heavy rains. The slow percolation helps recharge nearby borewells naturally.

Keep in mind: – Requires planning based on land slope so water flows smoothly – Needs digging tools and labour, not practical for small homes – Top layer needs cleaning after every monsoon to maintain efficiency

Best suited for:

School or office campuses, housing societies, farms or gardens with natural slopes, and properties with large catchment areas.

Percolation Wells

A percolation well is a deep structure designed to recharge groundwater where surface infiltration is difficult.

How it works

A percolation well is drilled 80 feet or more deep, reaching water-bearing layers underground. The well has perforated walls that allow water to seep into the surrounding soil and rock. Rainwater collected from rooftops or open areas is directed into these wells, where it percolates into the aquifer at depth, directly recharging the groundwater.

Cost and maintenance

This is a costlier solution compared to other recharge methods, though cheaper than check dams. It requires significant investment for drilling and construction.

Maintenance is not simple. Percolation wells need periodic cleaning by labourers to remove accumulated silt and debris. This process is time-consuming and must be done every few years to maintain effectiveness.

Keep in mind

This method works best where surface space is limited or soil permeability is poor. The depth and construction make it more complex than surface-based systems.

Best suited for

Large residential complexes, institutions, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and areas with high groundwater extraction, where space is limited but deep aquifer recharge is critical.

5. Check Dams & Contour Bunds

When you have a large property, farmland, or hilly area, building check dams or contour bunds can recharge not just one borewell, but the entire groundwater level in that region.

How it works

A check dam is a small wall built across a natural stream or drainage path. It slows down flowing rainwater so it can soak into the ground nearby.

A contour bund is a small raised barrier built along the slope of the land, following its natural shape. It stops rainwater from rushing down too quickly and lets it percolate gently into the soil.

Large-scale impact

These structures help refill multiple borewells in nearby areas and reduce soil erosion, preventing fertile soil from washing away. They increase soil moisture for crops and provide long-term results once built properly.

Important to know: – Needs technical design and sometimes government permission – Construction cost is higher compared to other recharge methods – Requires land with natural slope or drainage patterns

Best suited for:

Villages or group housing societies, farmlands, large institutions, and hilly or semi-hilly regions with natural water flow patterns.

Why Rooftop Filters For Borewell Recharge Makes Sense For Most Urban Homes ?

All the methods we discussed can help revive a dry borewell. But in modern way of living across cities, towns and villages where space is limited, maintenance is a cost and monitoring is a problem, borewell recharge by rooftop rainwater filters makes the most practical sense.

You don’t need to dig big pits or have open land. Every home already has a roof—so why not use it? Understand how rainwater harvesting can cut your water bills and recharge groundwater while securing your home’s water future.

By collecting and filtering rainwater from your roof, you can send clean water straight into the same water bank that gives water daily and recharge your borewell. Even a small terrace can collect thousands of litres of water every monsoon. And since quality filters remove dust and leaves automatically, the system stays clean with almost no maintenance.

The rainwater that falls on your roof every monsoon is your biggest water asset. With a simple economic filter, that water goes back underground instead of disappearing into storm drains. It’s practical, it’s proven, and thousands of homes across India are already doing it.

It is crucial that only rainwater from rooftop after proper filtration is added into a production borewell. Under no circumstances, shall surface water be added to a production borewell. As surface water has a lot of impurities like organic matter, compost, oil etc.

Calculate Your Water Savings & Take Action

If you get good rainfall in your area, you’re already sitting on a free water source—your own rooftop. You can easily calculate how much water your roof can collect using this simple formula:

Simple Formula:

Roof Area (sq. mt.) × Annual Rainfall (mm) × 0.8 (filtration co-efficient) = Total Litres Harvestable

Example:

100 sq. mt. × 800 mm × 0.8 = 64,000 litres per year

A 100 sq. mt. roof in an area with 800 mm of annual rainfall can collect around 64,000 litres of rainwater every year. Imagine how much that can help your borewell and reduce your dependence on tankers.

If you’re ready to start recharging your borewell, NeeRain’s rooftop filtration systems are designed specifically for Indian homes—compact, easy to install, and built for our monsoon patterns.

💧 Take the first step today:
Check how much rainwater your roof can capture and start saving every drop that falls on it.

Explore NeeRain’s Rainwater Harvesting Solutions →