Integrated Approach for Identifying Suitable Sites for Rainwater Harvesting Structures for Groundwater Augmentation in Basaltic Terrain

Integrated hydrological, geophysical and groundwater modeling studies has been carried out for identification of suitable sites for rainwater harvesting structures for groundwater augmentation in RRCAT Campus, Indore, M.P. Based on these studies ten check dams, two contour bunds and one earthen bund were recommended on the existing stream channels and in valley fills respectively. Likely water impoundment on these structures was calculated keeping in view the length and width of stream channels. Based on these study a groundwater flow model using MODFLOW were carried out keeping in view the geologic and hydrologic conditions of the area. The net rechargeable impounded rain water from these structures to groundwater regime was calculated for monsoon seasons which varied from 20 % to 48 % and net enhancement of groundwater recharge from all structures would be around 0.11 mcm/year and the water level in the existing well would rise by 2–3 m above its present level for future Groundwater augmentation.     

Assessing the Potential for Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is one of the promising ways of supplementing the surface and underground scarce water resources in areas where existing water supply system is inadequate to meet demand. Rainwater harvesting is one of the measure for reducing impact of climate change on water supplies. Abeokuta has a mean annual rainfall of 1,156 mm which makes rainwater harvesting ideal. Intra annual variability lies betwen 0.7 and 1.0 while the inter annual variability was 0.2. Annually 74.0 m³ of rainwater can be harvested per household. Estimated annual water demand for flushing, laundry and flushing were 21.6 and 29.4 m³ respectively. Harvested rainwater in Abeokuta can satisfy household monthly water demand for WC flushing and laundry except for November, December, January and February. The excess rainwater stored in September and October is sufficient to supplement the short fall in the dry months provided there is adequate storage.Water savings potential is highest in June and September which is the two rainfall peak period in Southwest Nigeria.     

Optimal Sites Identification for Rainwater Harvesting in Northeastern Guatemala by Analytical Hierarchy Process

The Guatemala’s rural population have limited resources, high vulnerability to climate change, traditional agriculture practices and adversely affected by water scarcity. These problems engender the need for further economic development and imposed pressure on the existing water resources. In response, Rain Water Harvest (RWH) is the measure as an alternative source towards water shortage problem and a decrease in groundwater extraction. However, the identification of optimal sites for RWH is an important step to maximize the amount of water harvested and minimize the ecological impact. In this study, an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determinate optimal sites using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in order to integrate spatial information. Physical and socio-economic features were main decision criteria along with six sub-criteria: potential runoff; land use; soil texture; slope; distance from agricultural land; and distance from roads. In the investigation, several different criteria with different AHP structures were utilized to assess the flexibility of structures. The result maps with respect to different criteria and AHP structurs are overlaid in a systematic scheme to identify the most suitable site for RWH project. The results identified four sites as optimally suitable and eight as highly suitable. The total 424,070.81 m³ volume of water can be potentially harvested from these optimally and highly suitable sites. The study area comprised of 770.61 km² of Guatemala northeastern region and it is suggested that the RWH system for agriculture purpose should be promoted through government and multistakeholder co-operations as an alternative water resource.     

An Optimization Approach for Assessing the Reliability of Rainwater Harvesting

This study was aimed at developing an optimization approach to rainwater harvesting (RWH) considering three (3) water consumption scenarios (WCS). These scenarios which include basic water need (BWN), pour flush (PF) and full plumbing connection (FPC) corresponding to 50 litres per capita per day (lpcd), 75(lpcd) and 150(lpcd) respectively were simulated for different categories of buildings. Reliability of supply was determined by first obtaining composite surplus/deficit of rainwater followed by optimizing the redistribution of surplus rainwater harvested to deficient buildings. Results showed that when total annual rainfall intercepted by roof exceeded total demand, 100% reliability of water supply was guaranteed. Reliability was found to be a linear function of storage. When reliability of supply is possible, the optimized storage bears an inverse exponential relationship to the roof plan area per capita. The relationship between surplus/deficit and roof plan area per capita follows a one-phase decay pattern. An optimal redistribution of surplus water from self-sufficient buildings to deficient ones gave an improvement in supply reliability from 64 to 87% for basic water need, 47 to 58% for pour flush and 28 to 29% for full plumbing connection.     

水资源可持续发展和雨水集蓄利用

人类进入 2 1世纪之际 ,水资源紧缺已成为全球性的问题。第二届全球水论坛提出 2 1世纪要实现人类的安全供水。到 2 0 2 5年要解决 31亿人的供水基本需求。任务十分艰巨。我国西北、华北和西南地区的缺水山区 ,地面水和地下水严重缺乏 (或季节性缺乏 )。这里山大沟深 ,引水困难 ,农业生产靠天吃饭 ,水平低下 ,居民饮用水长期没有保障 ,供水和粮食都缺乏安全性 ,是我国贫困最集中的地方。水是促进当地可持续发展的关键因素 ,而雨水是最有潜力的资源。近两个世纪以来的实践证明 ,雨水集蓄利用成功地为山区居民提供了可靠的生活和作物补充灌溉用水 ,在缺水山区的特定条件下是一项不可替代的措施。它具有分散解决、利用就地资源、采用适用技术、低投入 ,有利于社区和群众参与等特点 ,是符合可持续原则的综合发展模式。雨水集蓄利用的迅速发展已经对水资源学科提出了一系列新课题 ,将成为水资源科学新的生长点     

Optimal Sizing of Rainwater Harvesting Tanks for Domestic Use in Greece

Water Resources Management - Rainwater harvesting gains more and more ground as a modern, relatively inexpensive and simple water-saving technology, and as a sustainable water management practice,...     

Real Options Analysis as an Economic Evaluation Method for Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Water Resources Management - Rainwater harvesting systems (RWHSs) are increasingly employed to reduce the impact of water scarcity in urban buildings. Implementation depends on their financial...     

Temperature Performance of Different Pervious Pavements: Rainwater Harvesting for Energy Recovery Purposes

Pervious pavements offer a solution for rainwater runoff treatment in urban areas, combining storm-water management with water reuse purposes when the sub-bases become rainwater reservoirs. Furthermore, the thermal behaviour research into these systems has demonstrated their contribution to palliating the urban heat island effect in the hottest season and to delaying freezing during the coldest season. Recent investigations related to pervious pavements and their sub-bases have enabled the use of these structures combined with Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) in addition to the other well-known applications. The aim of this field study is to investigate the temperature response observations of the water stored in the sub-bases of different pervious pavements under specific conditions, in order to evaluate the possibility of introducing GSHP technology. The base and sub-base temperatures of different types of pervious pavements were monitored during one year and the results obtained show the differences in pervious pavements temperature compared to air temperature over the period of study; and demonstrate that the sub-base is less affected by the air temperature than the base, due to the insulating capacity of pervious pavements. On the other hand, water samples were taken from the different pervious pavement sub-bases in order to assess the water quality deterioration due to the temperatures reached in the sub-base, focused on investigating the presence of Legionella in this particular aquatic environment.     

Sustainability of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Rural Catchment of Sub-Saharan Africa

Sustainability of rainwater harvesting in enhancing water productivity in various biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of SSA is a key in large scale livelihood improvement. A study was undertaken in Makanya catchment of rural Tanzania to assess sustainability of storage type of rainwater harvesting systems including microdam, dug out pond, sub-surface runoff harvesting tank and rooftop rainwater harvesting system. The increasing population in upstream areas of the catchment has forced use of RWH systems for streams and river water abstraction. The agricultural intensification in hillslopes has affected the water availability for downstream uses. Rainfall variability, runoff quality and quantity, local skills and investment capacity, labour availability and institutional support influence sustainability of rainwater harvesting systems.     

The Value of Rain: Benefit-Cost Analysis of Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Water Resources Management - Rainwater harvesting is increasingly viewed as a practical means of reducing stormwater runoff and supplementing water supply in water-scarce regions, although its...     

Application of HEC-HMS Model for Evaluation of Rainwater Harvesting Potential in a Semi-arid City

Water Resources Management - With many countries facing water scarcity and the demand for water ever-increasing, more people are turning to rainwater harvesting (RWH) as a feasible way of...     

壶关县雨水集蓄利用的可行性探讨

壶关县的水资源严重短缺,文中收集了当地三种蔬菜作物的灌溉制度,计算了其作物需水量和可能集蓄的雨水资源量,进行了供需水平衡分析。结果表明,集蓄雨水资源完全能够满足农作物灌溉的需要。壶关县通过集水窖对雨水资源收集储存,并应用于农作物灌溉上,这一举措不仅可以解决水资源短缺问题,而且对现状缺水靠天吃饭的农村均具有示范作用。     

下凹式绿地对城市雨水集蓄利用作用研究进展

由于淡水分布不均,多数国家和地区水资源匮乏。城市耗水量巨大,尤其城市化的加快导致城市雨水大量流失,地下水位下降加剧了水资源枯竭。雨水是一种不可多得的可利用水源,很多国家已注意利用绿地收集利用雨水,我国也进行了相关研究。其中下凹式绿地是绿地雨水集蓄利用的改良措施,兼具景观、雨水利用、消减洪峰和控制雨水污染等功能。它比平式和凸式绿地具有更好的雨水集蓄利用功能。在分析雨水利用成为解决城市水源问题有效途径的基础上,着重综述了下凹式绿地雨水利用措施在我国的研究进程。探讨了目前该领域研究中存在问题,并提出建议,以期为更好的利用雨水缓解城市缺水局面,促进城市水循环及服务生态环境提供科学依据。     

Policies and Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Rainwater Harvesting for Urban Use in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government has been working on rainwater harvesting (RWH) for more than three decades. Despite its efforts, the results are not as expected. Different barriers have posed challenges to promoting RWH in Ethiopia. This study was done to identify the main problems and obstacles, and reflect on potential solutions. As a result, absence of clear policy definitions, lack of sustainably implemented projects, poor societal perceptions of RWH, local professionals lacking proper knowledge, and initial investment costs are found to be major causes of poor outcomes. Considering the site-specific nature of water issues, the authors propose various management strategies such as policy-oriented promotion, formulation of design guidelines, proactive planning, collaborative research, and integration of RWH with cost covering practices.     

SCS-CN Based Quantification of Potential of Rooftop Catchments and Computation of ASRC for Rainwater Harvesting

Rooftop rainwater harvesting, among other options, play a central role in addressing water security and reducing impacts on the environment. The storm or annual storm runoff coefficient (RC/ASRC) play a significant role in quantification of potential of rooftop catchments for rainwater harvesting, however, these are usually selected from generic lists available in literature. This study explores methodology/procedures based on one of the most popular and versatile hydrological model, Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) (SCS 1986) and its variants, i.e., Hawkins SCS-CN (HSCS-CN) model (Hawkins et al. 2001), Michel SCS-CN (MSCS-CN) model (Michel et al. Water Resour Res 41:W02011, 2005), and Storm Water Management Model-Annual Storm Runoff Coefficient (SWMM-ASRC) (Heaney et al. 1976) and compares their performance with Central Ground Board (CGWB) (CGWB 2000) approach. It has been found that for the same amount of rainfall and same rooftop catchment area, the MSCS-CN model yields highest rooftop runoff followed by SWMM-ASRC?>?HSCS-CN?>?SCS-CN?>?CGWB. However, the SCS-CN model has close resemblance with CGWB approach followed by HSCS-CN model, SWMM-ASRC, and MSCS-CN model. ASRCs were developed using these models and it was found that MSCS-CN model has the highest value of ASRC (= 0.944) followed by SWMM-ASRC approach (=0.900), HSCS-CN model (=0.830), SCS-CN model (=0.801), and CGWB approach (=0.800). The versatility of these models lies to the fact that CN values (according to rooftop catchment characteristics) would yield rooftop runoff and therefore ASRC values based on sound hydrological perception and not just on the empiricism. The models have inherent capability to incorporate the major factors responsible for runoff production from rooftop/urban, i.e., surface characteristics, initial abstraction, and antecedent dry weather period (ADWP) for the catchments and would be better a tool for quantification rather than just using empirical runoff coefficients for the purpose.     

Methodology to Optimize Rainwater Tank-sizing and Cluster Configuration for a Group of Buildings

Water Resources Management - The behavior of a rainwater harvesting system depends on some variables that cannot be controlled, such as rainfall, building roof size and water consumption. The...     

Rainwater Harvesting for Urban Areas: a Success Story from Gadarif City in Central Sudan

Gadarif city, in central Sudan, has suffered from a shortage of drinking water for decades. Half of its daily water requirement is met through river water imported over 50 km away and from local salty wells. As a consequence of building a small dam to control seasonal floods, it was found that the dam reservoir recharges groundwater, raising the water table by few a meters. Such experience was repeated and a second dam built in response to this success. This indicates that such a method may be a useful rainwater harvesting technique to provide safe water in water deficit areas in semi-arid regions affected by climate change and population increase.     

A Scenario-Driven Assessment of the Economic Feasibility of Rainwater Harvesting Using Optimized Storage

Water Resources Management - Regional water scarcity has given rise to the search for sustainable means of water supply. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been receiving unprecedented attention as...     

Assessment of Rainwater Availability by Building Type and Water Use Through GIS-based Scenario Analysis

Scenario analysis of rainwater harvesting and utilization (RWHU) was performed considering various non-potable water uses in different building types over a year. Six building types were identified in the study area using GIS data: residential houses, offices, commercial buildings, restaurants, public buildings, and “others”. Rainwater storage capacity was considered as 30 mm rainwater depth. Water demand for each building type was calculated as the sum of the individual water uses for toilet flushing, air conditioning, garden irrigation, and cleaning defined in this study as “miscellaneous usages”. To incorporate water quality considerations, rainwater with suspended solids level of less than 2 mg l⁻¹ was used as the quality criterion. The RWHU scenario was compared with other storage and water use scenarios. This study quantified the rainwater availability throughout a year and its seasonal variation and consumption in each building type. The analysis clarified the effectiveness of rainwater utilization for supplementing existing water resources.     

Towards Sustainable Water Quality: Management of Rainwater Harvesting Cisterns in Southern Palestine

Environmental management of rainwater harvesting in southern Palestine is required to reduce the continuously increasing demand for fresh water from limited water aquifers and to reduce the adverse health impact on the people drinking harvested rainwater. This continuously increasing demand for fresh water requires the enhancement of environmental conditions surrounding the cistern owners’ awareness to tackle the mismanagement that contributed to rainwater contamination. In this study, 100 cisterns were sampled and tested for physiochemical and microbiological parameters. Most of the tested physiochemical parameters were within the acceptable limits of WHO and Palestinian standards except turbidity, calcium and magnesium where 24%, 47% and 32% of the samples were non-conforming, respectively. The pH values of the collected rainwater ranged from 7.32 to 8.97 with a mean value of 8.16. The nitrate analysis results range from 1.5 to 7.0 mg/L, with a mean value of 4.2 mg/L. High percentage of cisterns were found to be contaminated with total Coliforms (TC) and faecal Coliforms (FC) with percentages of 95% and 57%, respectively, rendering the cistern water unacceptable for drinking purposes. 78% of samples had a severe degree of contamination for which water needs flocculation, sedimentation then chlorination to become suitable for drinking. On the other hand, based on FC data, none of the tested samples for FC was a “high risk”, but 57% of them were categorized with “simple” to “moderate risk” and 43% were “no risk” cisterns. A cistern owner’s survey was utilized to reveal the roots behind this contamination. Different remediation measures, such as cleaning cisterns and rainwater collection surfaces and discarding water from the first season storm, were recommended to enhance and protect the cistern water quality.