Socioeconomic potential for rainwater harvesting systems in southern Brazilian municipalities

Abstract The implementation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems depends on technical and socioeconomic assessments. However, most studies do not consider socioeconomic aspects, which could lead to different degrees of RWH implementation and technology selection due to economic constraints and local regulations. We evaluated the socioeconomic potential for RWH as an alternative for water supply of 24 Southern Brazilian municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants. A total of 10,080 RWH configurations were assessed and a reliability analysis was carried out to define the RWH system configurations potentially implementable (RWH+) in each municipality. RWH economic benefits were estimated from a social point of view, based on the reduction of the monthly water payment. Overall, RWH+ supplying higher demands with higher economics savings were feasible, as expected. However, several municipalities that showed RWH+ supplying 100% of the domestic water demands obtained lower economic savings, due to low water tariff and water consumption. Still, a set of municipalities presented RWH+ for rainwater demand replacing 50% to 60% of the residential demand, for which the high-water tariffs reflected in higher economics savings. The advantages of using the RWH systems outstand even more when the investments at Federal and Local levels are considered.

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China's water sustainability in the 21st century: a climate-informed water risk assessment covering multi-sector water demands

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-18-1653-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 1653-1662 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

X. Chen ◽

D. Naresh ◽

L. Upmanu ◽

Z. Hao ◽

L. Dong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Risk Measures ◽

Rainfall Variability ◽

Political Process ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

High Water ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Water Sustainability ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Water Demands

Abstract. China is facing a water resources crisis with growing concerns as to the reliable supply of water for agricultural, industrial and domestic needs. High inter-annual rainfall variability and increasing consumptive use across the country exacerbates the situation further and is a constraint on future development. For water sustainability, it is necessary to examine the differences in water demand and supply and their spatio-temporal distribution in order to quantify the dimensions of the water risk. Here, a detailed quantitative assessment of water risk as measured by the spatial distribution of cumulated deficits for China is presented. Considering daily precipitation and temperature variability over fifty years and the current water demands, risk measures are developed to inform county level water deficits that account for both within-year and across-year variations in climate. We choose political rather than watershed boundaries since economic activity and water use are organized by county and the political process is best informed through that unit. As expected, the risk measures highlight North China Plain counties as highly water stressed. Regions with high water stress have high inter-annual variability in rainfall and now have depleted groundwater aquifers. The stress components due to agricultural, industrial and domestic water demands are illustrated separately to assess the vulnerability of particular sectors within the country to provide a basis for targeted policy analysis for reducing water stress.

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Rainwater harvesting as an alternative for water supply in regions with high water stress

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2018.018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 1946-1955 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Miguel Ángel López Zavala ◽

Mónica José Cruz Prieto ◽

Cristina Alejandra Rojas Rojas

Keyword(s):

Water Demand ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Economic Assessment ◽

Water Source ◽

High Water ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Storage Tanks ◽

Logistics Company ◽

Current Water

Abstract In this study, the reliability of using rainwater harvesting to cover the water demand of a transportation logistics company located in Mexico City was assessed. Water consumption in facilities and buildings of the company was determined. Rainwater potentially harvestable from the roofs and maneuvering yard of the company was estimated based on a statistical analysis of the rainfall. Based on these data, potential water saving was determined. Characterization of rainwater was carried out to determine the treatment necessities for each water source. Additionally, the capacity of water storage tanks was estimated. For the selected treatment systems, an economic assessment was conducted to determine the viability of the alternative proposed. Results showed that current water demand of the company can be totally covered by using rainwater. The scenario where roof and maneuvering yard rainwater was collected and treated together resulted in being more economic than the scenarios where roof and maneuvering yard rainwater was collected and treated separately. Implementation of the rainwater harvesting system will generate important economic benefits for the company. The investment will be amortized in only 5 years and the NPV will be on the order of US$ 5,048.3, the IRR of 5.7%, and the B/I of 1.9.

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China's water sustainability in the 21st century: a climate informed water risk assessment covering multi-sector water demands

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-10-11129-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 11129-11150 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

X. Chen ◽

N. Devineni ◽

U. Lall ◽

Z. Hao ◽

L. Dong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Risk Measures ◽

Rainfall Variability ◽

Political Process ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

High Water ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Water Sustainability ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Water Demands

Abstract. China is facing a water resources crisis with growing concerns as to the reliable supply of water for agricultural, industrial and domestic needs. High inter-annual rainfall variability and increasing consumptive use across the country exacerbates the situation further and is a constraint on future development. For water sustainability, it is necessary to examine the differences in water demand and supply and their spatio-temporal distribution in order to quantify the dimensions of the water risk. Here, a detailed quantitative assessment of water risk as measured by the distribution of cumulated deficits for China is presented. Considering daily precipitation and temperature variability over fifty years and the current water demands, risk measures are developed to inform county level water deficits that account for both within year and across year variations in climate. We choose political rather than watershed boundaries since economic activity and water use are organized by county and the political process is best informed through that unit. The risk measures highlight North China Plain counties as highly water stressed. Regions with high water stress are typically the regions with high inter-annual variability in rainfall and now have depleted groundwater aquifers. The stress components due to agricultural, industrial and domestic water demands are illustrated separately to assess the vulnerability of particular sectors within the country to provide a basis for targeted policy analysis for reducing water stress.

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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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Developing a GIS-based water poverty and rainwater harvesting suitability maps for domestic use in the Dead Sea region (West Bank, Palestine)

10.5194/hess-2018-344 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sameer M. Shadeed ◽

Tariq G. Judeh ◽

Mohammad N. Almasri

Keyword(s):

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

West Bank ◽

High Water ◽

Water Shortage ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Domestic Water ◽

The West ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

The Dead ◽

Very High

Abstract. In Dead Sea region as arid to semi-arid regions, water shortage and the inability to satisfy the increasing domestic water demand have been threatening the sustainable development. In such situations, domestic rainwater harvesting is considered an efficient management option to combat water poverty. This paper aims to develop a domestic water poverty (DWP) and domestic rainwater harvesting suitability (DRWHS) maps for the West Bank, Palestine (5860 km2). The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) together with the GIS-based weighted overly summation process (WOSP) was utilized in the development of these maps. A total of 12 and four different assessing criteria were used in the development of DWP and DRWHS maps, respectively. Results of DWP map indicate that about 57 % of the West Bank is under high to very high domestic water poverty. On the other hand, the DRWHS map indicates that about 60 % of the West Bank can be classified as high to very high suitable areas for domestic rainwater harvesting. Furthermore, DWP and DRWHS maps intersection indicates that around 31 % of the West Bank areas could be classified as high potential locations for adopting rainwater harvesting techniques for domestic purposes. Finally, the developed maps are of high value for different stakeholders to realize the importance of promoting rainwater harvesting for a self-sustaining and self-reliant domestic water supply in high water poverty areas in the Dead Sea region generally and in the West Bank particularly.

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Global scenarios of irrigation water use for bioenergy production: a systematic review

10.5194/hess-2020-338 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fabian Stenzel ◽

Dieter Gerten ◽

Naota Hanasaki

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

High Water ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Crop Species ◽

Bioenergy Production ◽

Final Energy ◽

Water Demands ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Irrigation Water Use ◽

Climate Evolution

Abstract. Many scenarios of future climate evolution and its anthropogenic drivers include considerable amounts of bioenergy as fuel source, negative emission technology, or for final energy production. The associated freshwater requirements for irrigation of dedicated biomass plantations might be substantial and therefore potentially increase water limitation and stress in affected regions; however, assumptions and quantities of water use provided in the literature vary strongly. This paper reviews existing global assessments of freshwater requirements for such bioenergy production and puts these estimates into the context of scenarios for other water use sectors. We scanned the available literature and (out of 430 initial hits) found 16 publications (partly including several scenarios) with reported values on global water demand for irrigation of biomass plantations, suggesting a range of 125–11,350 km3 yr−1 water use (consumption), compared to about 1,100–11,600 km3 yr−1 for other (agricultural, industrial, and domestic) water withdrawals. To provide an understanding of the origins of this large range, we present the diverse underlying assumptions, discuss major study differences, and make the freshwater amounts involved comparable by estimating the original biomass harvests from reported final energy or negative emissions. We conclude that due to the potentially high water demands and the trade-offs that might go along with them, bioenergy should be an integral part of global assessments of freshwater demand and use. For interpreting and comparing reported estimates of possible future bioenergy water demands, full disclosure of parameters and assumptions is crucial. A minimum set should include annual blue water consumption and withdrawal, bioenergy crop species, rainfed as well as irrigated bioenergy plantation locations (including total area), and total bioenergy harvest amounts.

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