scholarly journals A Comparison of Methods to Address Anaerobic Conditions in Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3419
Author(s):  
Kathy DeBusk Gee ◽  
Daniel Schimoler ◽  
Bree T. Charron ◽  
Mitch D. Woodward ◽  
William F. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
First Flush ◽  
Storage Tanks ◽  
Anaerobic Conditions ◽  
Rainfall Characteristics ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Semi Arid

Although historically used in semi-arid and arid regions, rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have increasingly been used in non-arid and humid regions of the world to conserve potable water and mitigate stormwater runoff. Rainfall characteristics and usage patterns of stored rainwater are distinctly different in (semi-)arid and humid regions, thus presenting a unique set of challenges with respect to their utilization. Coupled with infrequent use, the addition of nitrogen and organic matter via pollen during the spring season can lead to anaerobic conditions within storage tanks, which hinders nitrogen removal, gives stored water an offensive odor, and ultimately discourages use of the water. This study evaluated three measures that can be implemented for new and existing RWH systems to prevent the development of anaerobic conditions within storage tanks: first flush diversion, simulated use, and the continuous circulation of stored water. Study findings indicate that preventing anaerobic conditions via simulated use and recirculation (1) does not necessarily remedy the issue of poor aesthetics within rainwater storage tanks, and (2) can decrease the water quality benefits provided by these systems. Rather, preventing the introduction of pollen and particulate matter to the storage tank via a first flush diverter and minimizing disturbance of settled material in the tank appear to be the most effective methods of addressing the poor aesthetics and odor problems associated with anaerobic conditions.

scholarly journals Cost analysis of a rainwater harvesting system in Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 00078
Author(s):  
Grażyna Sakson
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Alternative Water ◽  
The Cost

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.

Designing domestic rainwater harvesting systems under different climatic regimes in Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 2511-2518 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Campisano ◽  
I. Gnecco ◽  
C. Modica ◽  
A. Palla
Keyword(s):  
Potable Water ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Regression Curves ◽  
Storm Water Runoff ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Dimensional Parameters ◽  
Climatic Classification

Nowadays domestic rainwater harvesting practices are recognized as effective tools to improve the sustainability of drainage systems within the urban environment, by contributing to limiting the demand for potable water and, at the same time, by mitigating the generation of storm water runoff at the source. The final objective of this paper is to define regression curves to size domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) systems in the main Italian climatic regions. For this purpose, the Köppen–Geiger climatic classification is used and, furthermore, suitable precipitation sites are selected for each climatic region. A behavioural model is implemented to assess inflow, outflow and change in storage volume of a rainwater harvesting system according to daily mass balance simulations based on historical rainfall observations. The performance of the DRWH system under various climate and operational conditions is examined as a function of two non-dimensional parameters, namely the demand fraction (d) and the modified storage fraction (sm). This last parameter allowed the evaluation of the effects of the rainfall intra-annual variability on the system performance.

Life cycle assessment of rainwater harvesting systems for Brazilian semi‐arid households

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-330
Author(s):  
Thiago Barbosa de Jesus ◽  
Alice Costa Kiperstok ◽  
Eduardo Borges Cohim
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Semi Arid

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

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2351 ◽  
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.

Evaluation of rainwater harvesting performance for water supply in cities with cold and semi-arid climate

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1322-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oweis Molaei ◽  
Mahdi Kouchakzadeh ◽  
Fereshte Haghighi Fashi
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Building Roof ◽  
Potential Applicability ◽  
Potable Water Supply ◽  
Rainfall Statistics ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract In this study, the performance of rainwater harvesting (RWH) was assessed in terms of potential applicability for rainwater saving and non-potable water supply. Rainwater collecting from roofs of buildings was simulated in two cities with cold and semi-arid climate, namely Qazvin and Sanandaj. Rainfall statistics, information on the storage tank size, building roof areas and water demand (non-potable) were obtained. Buildings with roof areas of 100 m2 to 300 m2 were considered for the present study. It can be concluded that for cities located in cold and semi-arid climates, at least 60% of non-potable water can be supplied from roofs with a large area, a minimum 16% and maximum 70% for a low roof area, a minimum 8% and maximum 44% of the days per year from harvested rainwater. It is also found that for cities located in cold and semi-arid climates, it is possible to achieve at least 70% of non-potable water from large surface roofs. For the studied cities, with increasing tank size (1,000 to 5,000 L) rainwater saving was tangible for the same roof areas.

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