Lifecycle Analysis of a Single-Family Residential Rainwater Harvesting System in a Subtropical, Metropolitan Environment

Rainwater harvesting is an alternative water supply method that has become popular in recent years around the world. This is mainly due to financial reasons (reducing the cost of potable water and fees for rainwater discharge to the sewerage), but also because of environmental awareness. In Poland, rainwater harvesting systems are not often used because of their low financial viability determined by high system construction costs and the low prices of potable water. Earlier analysis conducted by the author showed that the payback period of investment outlays was from a dozen or so years for large buildings, to a few dozen for single-family houses. This situation may change after the introduction of common fees for discharging rainwater from impervious areas into sewerage, and fees for the reduction of natural retention on newly built-up areas, in accordance with new water regulations. This paper presents a cost analysis of rainwater harvesting systems for ten cities in Poland, with varying annual rainfall depth and various pricing for potable water. Analyses were carried out for a single-family house located in an area equipped with a municipal sewer system, and for a large building, located in an area equipped and not equipped with a municipal sewer system.

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Reduction of Potable Water Consumption and Sewage Generation on a City Scale: A Case Study in Brazil

Water ◽

10.3390/w11112351 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 2351 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cureau ◽

Ghisi

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Potable Water ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Single Family ◽

Water Savings ◽

The Public ◽

Water Demands ◽

Harvesting Systems ◽

The City ◽

Greywater Reuse

This article aims to estimate the reduction of potable water consumption and sewage generation in the city of Joinville, southern Brazil. Four strategies were considered to promote potable water savings: replacement of conventional toilets with dual-flush ones, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting, and the combination of these three strategies. Residential, public, and commercial sectors were assessed. The potential for potable water savings ranged from 1.7% to 50.5%, and the potential for sewage generation reduction ranged from 2.1% to 52.1%. The single-family residential sector was the most representative for water savings and sewage generation reduction. The public sector would be the least contributor to such reductions. It was found that in the city of Joinville, for low non-potable water demands, greywater reuse was the most viable strategy to save water. When non-potable demand is high and there is a large catchment area, it is recommended to install rainwater harvesting systems. It was concluded that there is a high potential for potable water savings and reduction of sewage generation if measures were adopted in Joinville, but it is necessary to evaluate which strategy is the most appropriate for each building.

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Demonstrating Residential Water Conservation and Reuse in the Sonoran Desert: Casa del Agua and Desert House

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1991.0261 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 323-330 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Martin M. Karpiscak ◽

Richard G. Brittain ◽

Charles P. Gerba ◽

Kennith E. Foster

Keyword(s):

Water Conservation ◽

Sonoran Desert ◽

Potable Water ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Public Information ◽

Single Family ◽

Real World Data ◽

Graywater Reuse ◽

And Storage ◽

Residential Water

Single-family homes are being used to demonstrate and research water conserving and reuse techniques and technologies. These facilities can provide real-world data as well as public information and educational programs. The installation of water-conserving fixtures, rainwater harvesting, and graywater reuse systems and storage can reduce the requirements for potable water by 50 percent. Casa del Agua and Desert House show that the science of conserving resources can be balanced with the art of designing quality desert dwellings.

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ANALYZING THE WILLINGNESS TO WORK AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR RWH IN JAPAN

Jurnal Lanskap Indonesia ◽

10.29244/jli.2018.10.2.37-45 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 37-45

Author(s):

Xiaohuan Jiang

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Willingness To Pay ◽

Citizen Participation ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

The Internet ◽

Full Time ◽

Urban Flooding ◽

Willingness To Participate ◽

Single Family ◽

The Public

Citizen participation of rainwater harvesting is a valuable practice to mitigate problems such as groundwater mining, land subsidence, and urban flooding cause by global warming and urbanization in japan. In this study, we defined rainwater harvesting as activities carried out by citizens aimed at using rainwater, and examining the hypothesis that people’s willingness to work (WTW) and willingness to pay (WTP) for rainwater harvesting differ depending on their lifestyles and experience of using rainwater. We conducted a survey over the internet in August 2017, covering 1,794 people in Japan. The survey questions addressed three areas: (1) respondents’ lifestyles, (2) their experience of using rainwater, and (3) their willingness to participate in rainwater harvesting. As the results, we concluded that activities that ask for time or labor are preferable to those that ask for money, and people’s WTW and WTP do in fact differ based on lifestyle. Older people, full-time housewives/husbands, and non-workers have comparatively more time for participating in rainwater harvesting, and showed more interest in activities that ask for time or labor. Men and owners of single-family homes have higher annual incomes and thus greater WTP for rainwater harvesting. Moreover, WTW and WTP differed depending on whether a person had experience using rainwater. Men and younger people having more experience than women and elderly people.　However, there were only 10% of the public has experience using rainwater, which shows that　there is room to further promote rainwater harvesting.

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Evaluation of rainwater harvesting in Portugal: Application to single-family residences

Resources Conservation and Recycling ◽

10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.11.004 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 94 ◽

pp. 21-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Cristina Matos Silva ◽

Vitor Sousa ◽

Nuno Vaz Carvalho

Keyword(s):

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Single Family

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Plugrisost: a model for design, economic cost and environmental analysis of rainwater harvesting in urban systems

Water Practice & Technology ◽

10.2166/wpt.2014.028 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 243-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

X. Gabarrell ◽

T. Morales-Pinzón ◽

J. Rieradevall ◽

M. R. Rovira ◽

G. Villalba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Analysis ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Tap Water ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Urban Systems ◽

Optimal Size ◽

Single Family ◽

Successful Operation ◽

Rainwater Tank

In the context of transition to sustainability, one of the main challenges facing societies today is the supply of water. By integrating different methodological tools and studies we developed the innovative software program Plugrisost® (rainwater, greys and sustainability), a simulation model, that facilitates the economic evaluation and the potential environmental impact of alternative water supplies (rainwater harvesting [RWH] and greywater systems) at different scales of urban planning. This modelling tool contributes to urban water planning for smart cities development. Plugrisost® analyses the optimal design variables, cost and environmental performance of RWH and greywater systems, using tap water production as a reference system for comparison. The use of economic and environmental indicators can make the optimal size of a rainwater tank more restrictive when it is compared to the results regarding the satisfaction of the demand for rainwater. Economic and environmental analysis can help avoid oversizing tanks for rainwater and thus obtain greater benefits. Plugrisost includes estimated cost and Global Warming Potential, as well as other life cycle impact indicators for this purpose. A case study analyzing the implementation of a RWH system in a single-family house in Aveiro, Portugal is included, showing the importance of rainwater availability and demand for the successful operation of simulated systems.

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Effectiveness of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Flood Reduction in Residential Urban Areas

Water ◽

10.3390/w11071389 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1389 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Gabriele Freni ◽

Lorena Liuzzo

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Flood Risk ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Single Family ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Harvesting Systems ◽

Daily Water ◽

Alternative Water ◽

Area Of Study

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have many benefits being an effective alternative water supply solution, not only in arid and semi-arid regions. Also, these systems can be useful in the reduction of flood risk in urban areas. Nevertheless, most of the studies in literature focused on the potential of RWH in reducing water consumption, whereas few examples examined their efficiency in the retention of stormwater in flood-susceptible residential areas. The aim of this work was to investigate the reliability of RWH systems in terms of stormwater retention. Specifically, the performance of RWH tanks to supply water for toilet flushing, in more than 400 single-family houses in a residential area of Sicily (Southern Italy) was analyzed. The area of study was chosen due to its high susceptibility to flooding. A flushing water demand pattern was defined using water consumption data collected during a measurement campaign. The yield-after-spillage algorithm was used to simulate the daily water balance of the RWH tanks. The effect of the RWH implementation on flood volumes in the area of study was quantified using FLO-2D. Results point out that the potential of neighborhood RWH installation in the mitigation of flood risk is highly related to rainfall amount.

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Hydrodynamic modeling of the impact of residential rainwater harvesting systems on stormwater runoff and drainage networks

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20184500089 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 00089 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Agnieszka Stec

Keyword(s):

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Hydrodynamic Modeling ◽

Single Family ◽

Drainage Networks ◽

Harvesting Systems ◽

Family Housing ◽

Rain Barrels ◽

Pressure Flows ◽

The Impact ◽

Catchment Model

This paper presents the results of hydrodynamic modeling of urbanized catchment, where rainwater harvesting systems (RWH) was applied. The catchment model was developed in the Storm Water Managment Model program and RWH was simulated as one of the LID practices available in this program - rain barrels (RB). The research was carried out for various rain barrels implementation scenarios (50% -100%) in a single-family housing estate. However, the results of the research showed that the use of rain barrels (RB) to capture rainwater discharged from the roof of buildings was not effective in significantly reducing the outflow of water from the catchment, and thus reducing the occurrence of pressure flows in the analyzed sewage system.

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Impact of Rainwater Harvesting on the Drainage System: Case Study of a Condominium of Houses in Curitiba, Southern Brazil

Water ◽

10.3390/w10081100 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1100 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Andréa Teston ◽

Celimar Teixeira ◽

Enedir Ghisi ◽

Ernani Cardoso

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Drainage System ◽

Daily Rainfall ◽

Storage Tanks ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Single Family ◽

Rainwater Tank ◽

The Impact

The objective of this work is to assess the impact of rainwater use in single-family houses on drinking water consumption and on the urban drainage system by means of a case study of a condominium of houses in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil. A quantitative evaluation of the rainwater volume used and spilled in the recovery system was carried out using two methods for sizing the rainwater tank capacity. Using daily rainfall data and three demand scenarios of water consumption, it was possible to verify the efficiency and reliability of the adopted systems. Furthermore, in order to verify the impact on drainage, the greatest rainfall in the series was assessed and then it was possible to measure it by comparing the hydrograph peak flows with and without the rainwater harvesting systems in the watershed outfall, corresponding to the storage tanks (concrete boxes) in the condominium. It was concluded that there was a decrease in the peak flow of 4.9% and 4.4%, respectively, in the two storage tanks evaluated when the rainwater tank capacities were estimated using the method based on the German Practical Method.

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