A review on harvesting and harnessing rainwater: an alternative strategy to cope with drinking water scarcity

Abstract

Currently available sources of water face extreme pressures around the globe because of oblivious human activities as well as changing climate. Rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) carries a huge potential to enhance surface and groundwater resources in the regions having a poor water supply. Recently, several countries have started to promote the updated implementation of such practice to tackle the problem of growing water demand. These considerations motivated our enthusiasm for looking at its current circumstances and the possibility of RWHS in the future. In this regard, the study aims to identify the evidence gap among different determinants (climate change, reliability, water quality and financial viability) intertwined with RWHS. In the proposed paper, studies related to the significance of RWHS amidst scarcity of water around the globe, published in the valued journals from 2000 to 2020, are reviewed. We found that the RWHS becomes economically viable when certain steps and risks assessment methods are executed in planning and maintaining this system. The study concludes that drinking water sufficiency is possible if a sustainable drinking water supply system is built via RWHS.

Determining the Best Rainwater Harvesting System in Al-Muthanna Governorate, Iraq

“…Moreover, a sub-categorization of the micro catchment rainwater harvesting systems has been made, which include catchment surfaces, including rooftop systems, courtyards, and other impermeable structures [14]. This type of collection is mainly used for domestic purposes, although if the quality of water is low, it could be used in agriculture practices or to irrigate home gardens [15]. While, based on the source of water (catchment area), rainwater harvesting systems are classified into in-situ (such as terracing and living barriers) and ex-situ technologies (such as pavement collection and ponds), and manmade/impermeable surfaces, as shown in Figure 1 [16].…”

Identifying determinants of sustainable water management at the household level through rainwater harvesting systems in Nepal

“…Rainwater harvesting is one of the alternatives. As Khanal et al (2020) noted, if a water supply system is built via RHWS, drinking water sufficiency is possible. Figure 1 shows the study area.…”

“…The RWH system is still new for Nepal as very fewer people adopt this alternative and those who applied rainwater harvesting mostly adopt the traditional way which is not applicable for drinking because of quality. Hence, regular monitoring and awareness programs are necessary for the systematic installation of the RWH system (Khanal et al, 2020). In the case of KV, as most people rely on groundwater, it can be a good mechanism for groundwater recharge.…”

Rainwater: Harvesting and Storage through a Flexible Storage System to Enhance Agricultural Resilience

“…As reported by current literature, RWH represents a valid system to improve the agricultural water management system at the farm level [23,24] since it can reduce stormwater runoff by collecting water and increase crop yield through irrigation [23][24][25][26]. On the other hand, several studies in water harvesting have documented the critical role of ponds and pans, check dams, terracing, and percolation tanks [27][28][29][30]. In fact, traditional RWH systems still show some concerns, such as land consumption, high evaporation in hot climates, and the possibility of accidents for both people and animals looking for water in dry periods.…”