Historical development of rainwater harvesting and use in Hellas: a preliminary review

Abstract

The uneven temporal and partial distribution of water resources in Hellas, and especially southeastern regions, has resulted in the construction of various water systems for collection and storage of rainwater, since their very early habitation. Ever since, technologies for the construction and use of several types of cisterns and other relevant hydraulic strictures have been developed. The main diachronic achievements in rainwater harvesting and use in Hellas from the earliest times of humankind to the present is studied. Emphasis is given to the periods of great achievements such as the Hellenistic and the Roman. The major necessity of water justifies not only the innovations found throughout the historical time-line of these constructions but also the most advanced engineering of each era applied to these constructions. Also, the importance of this hydrotechnology and the concept of the value of water-saving to present and future times is considered. Aspects referring to hygienic precautions for the purity of the water collected and stored are another issue that is worth examining.

Investigation of the Current Situation and Prospects for the Development of Rainwater Harvesting as a Tool to Confront Water Scarcity Worldwide

“…In several Greek cities, rainwater was harvested through open spaces on the roofs, yards, and other open spaces into covered cisterns for storage and future use, in order to meet their daily water needs [14]. Numerous cisterns of the Classical and Hellenistic era have been found in private or public buildings all over Greece, and are quadrilateral or circular, for example, Delos, Akanthus, Santorini, Amorgos, Aiani (Kozani), and Pella.…”

“…Besides their decorative function, impluvia, especially in the early Roman era, were connected with underground storage cisterns, which is why they must be concerned as rainwater harvesting systems [16]. The majority of houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum possessed such hydraulic installations, while similar examples existed all over Greece, and in the eastern territories of the Roman Empire, as well as in North African cities [14].…”

“…The renewal of interest is also related to the role that decentralized water collection systems can play to mitigate flood risks, among others, and because the decentralized multi-purpose rainwater harvesting systems constitute useful infrastructures to mitigate other water-related disasters, such as sudden water break and fire events, especially in highly developed urban areas. Nowadays, the art of collecting rainwater has received renewed attention and interest in many countries as a viable decentralized water source globally, like Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, among others, in Europe; India, China, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, among others, in Asia; Kenya, Ethiopia, and Syria, among others, in Africa; in several states of the USA (Nevada, Utah, and so on) and Canada; Brazil in South America; and Australia and New Zealand [14].…”

“…Koenig and Sperfeld [27] pointed out that the English term "rainwater harvesting" (RWH) is widely accepted internationally. However, there is not a unified definition about this term that is commonly accepted by the scientific community [14]. Researchers employ a wide variety of terms and definitions to describe the various methods aimed at the use of, collection, and storage of rain runoff in order to increase the availability of water for drinking, irrigation, and so on in arid and semi-arid areas [28].…”

“…In the general sense, the term "water harvesting" describes a range of techniques for the collection and concentration of runoff. Usually, water harvesting is used as a generic term encompassing a whole range of methods for the collection and concentration of various forms of runoff (overland flow, rooftop runoff, ephemeral streams, and so on) from various sources (rain or dew) and for various purposes (agricultural, livestock, domestic water supply, environmental management) [14].…”