Comparative Cost Study of Shaft over the RCC ESR in Rural Water Supply Scheme

Abstract

RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) Elevated Service Reservoirs (ESRs) are commonly used in rural water supply schemes for storing and distributing water. However, there are several challenges associated with their use in rural setting such as High Initial Cost, Long Construction Time, Maintenance and Repair Challenges, Structural Integrity Issues, Land Acquisition Issues, Water Losses, Vulnerability to Natural Disasters. The main objective of the study is to study the problems faced in running rural water supply scheme, to understand the application of shaft in rural water supply scheme over the RCC ESR, to carry out the cost analysis of shaft over the RCC ESR, to compare the shaft and RCC ESR based on the performance and its lifecycle. with the help of case studies.Thus the aim of following study is to minimize the cost of water supply projects also reduce the wok completion time and to minimize the operational and Maintenance cost of project in future.

Introduction

Overview

India’s rural water supply schemes aim to provide clean and safe drinking water, especially to remote areas. A key component in these schemes is the RCC ESR (Reinforced Cement Concrete Elevated Storage Reservoir), which enables gravity-based water distribution by storing water at a height.

Importance of Shafts

• Shafts are vertical hydraulic structures that offer operational benefits in water transmission networks (WTN).

• They reduce water hammer effects, improve hydraulic separation, and minimize excess static pressure.

• Shafts also enhance system efficiency, reduce pipeline wear, and support better water pressure management.

Literature Insights

• Studies emphasize the role of shafts in improving performance and reducing operation/maintenance costs.

• Problems in Indian WSSs (Water Supply Schemes) include gaps in design, lack of skilled manpower, and poor operational practices.

• Solutions such as multi-outlet tanks and shafts are recommended to improve distribution equity and reliability.

Case Study: Limala Village, Maharashtra

• Current infrastructure includes:

  • A percolation well (1.3 lakh liters capacity).

  • An RCC ESR (30,000 liters capacity, 12 m height) built in 2009.

• With population growth and rising demand (estimated at 55 liters/person/day for the next 30 years), existing resources are insufficient.

• Estimated need: 46,000 liters additional ESR.

• Problem: No space near the current ESR to build a new tank.

Proposed Solution

• Use of shaft-based system to distribute water from a newly proposed percolation well (1.5 lakh liters) to the existing network.

• Comparative study conducted between RCC ESR vs. Shaft based on:

  • Application

  • Limitations

  • Cost efficiency

  • Long-term scalability

Population and Demand Estimation

• Used three forecasting methods (Arithmetic, Incremental, Geometric) to project population growth and daily water demand over 30 years (from census data 1971–2011).

• Averaged results used to plan future infrastructure needs.

Conclusion

The study done over here is related to comparative study for use of SHAFT over the RCC ESR in Rural water supply scheme. The observations and remark shows that the cost of project will be saved upto (91.48%). The use of RCC ESR or SHAFT will be used as per site condition, soil bearing capacity of soil, availibity of skilled labours, pipe type will be used, budget etc.

References

[1] Ghorpade, A. kumarSinha, and P. Kalbar, “Energy reduction with application of shaft in water supply systems,” 2021. [2] P. F. Boulos, B. W. Karney, D. J. Wood, and S. Lingireddy, “Hydraulic transient guidelines for protecting water distribution systems,” Journal-American Water Works Association, vol. 97, no. 5, pp. 111–124, 2005. [3] P. Kalbar and P. Gokhale, “Decentralized infrastructure approach for successful water supply systems in india: use of multi-outlet tanks, shafts and manifolds,” Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology—AQUA, vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 295–301, 2019. [4] P. P. Kalbar, P. N. Gokhale, A. K. Ghorpade, and A. K. Sinha, “Low cost interventions for improving water supply systems in india,” Journal of Indian Water Works Association, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 174–181, 2021.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mr. Rahul D. Shinde , Mr. Vinayak N. Giram . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.