NGO Affairs Bureau Reg. 1380 (Renewed: 1949) | Social Welfare Dha-03632 | Khulna Secretariat, Bangladesh

WaterAid Industrial Rainwater Harvesting in Apparel Sector

Pioneering industrial water sustainability across ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturing plants in Gazipur and Savar, capturing over 180 million liters of rainwater annually.

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Mitigating Industrial Groundwater Depletion

The textile and ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh constitutes the backbone of national export earnings but consumes immense quantities of freshwater—up to 120 liters per kilogram of fabric processed. In the industrial corridors of Gazipur, Savar, and Narayanganj, intensive deep tubewell abstraction has caused the water table to drop by over 2.5 meters annually.

In collaboration with WaterAid Bangladesh, Decathlon, and BESTSELLER, RUSTIC engineered comprehensive industrial rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems across major manufacturing compounds, including Echotex Ltd. and partner facilities. The system captures monsoon rainfall from massive factory roofs, purifies it through automated multi-stage filtration, and stores it in underground reservoirs for factory dyeing, washing, cooling, and sanitation.

Engineering Design & Filtration Stages

  • Rooftop Catchment & Guttering: Reinforced PVC and coated steel gutters with calculated slope gradients to convey 150 mm/hr peak rainfall intensity without overflow.
  • Hydrodynamic First-Flush Vortex Separator: Automatically diverts the initial 1.5–2.0 mm of rainfall carrying atmospheric particulate dust and rooftop debris.
  • Dual-Media Sand & Carbon Filtration: Graded silica sand and activated granular carbon beds filtering turbidity below 1.0 NTU and eliminating organic tannins.
  • Underground Storage & Booster Network: 500,000 to 1,000,000 liter reinforced concrete cisterns fitted with automatic PLC-controlled chlorination and distribution pumps.

Project Dossier & Partners

  • Lead Development Partner: WaterAid Bangladesh
  • Global Brand Stakeholders: Decathlon, BESTSELLER
  • Implementing NGO: RUSTIC Secretariat
  • Target Factory Locations: Gazipur, Savar, Dhaka
  • Annual Rainwater Captured: 180+ Million Liters
  • Calculated Capital Payback: 3.2 Years Average
RUSTIC WaterAid Rainwater Harvesting Plant
Industrial Guttering and Vortex Filter Unit in Factory Site

Technical Field Documentation

Water Quality Filtration Array
Filtration Manifold: Automated multi-valve backwash system maintaining water purity.
Underground Concrete Reservoir
Storage Cistern: Underground earthquake-resilient concrete storage reservoir.
Technical Engineering Flow Chart
Flow Dynamics: Complete hydraulic engineering schematics from WaterAid Monograph.
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