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.

Engenharia sanitária e ambiental: Recursos hídricos e tratamento de água 3

“…Tornando o sistema público mais resiliente frente aos efeitos das mudanças climáticas (Imteaz et al, 2021). O que foi constatado por Tavares et al (2022) que há potencial socioeconômico para captação de água de chuva em vários municípios brasileiros, sendo influenciado pela tarifa e consumo de água.…”

Stormwater Harvesting from Roof Catchments: A Review of Design, Efficiency, and Sustainability

“…Additionally, it was learned that the expense of installing a rainwater harvesting system could quickly be recovered in three to four years [74]. It is vital to emphasize the various upfront expenses associated with the infrastructure that makes it possible to deploy rainwater harvesting in households and the costs associated with maintenance and operation over the year [78]. The ability to save tap water, as well as capital and operational costs incurred throughout the system's operation, were also found to significantly impact the cost of employing the rainwater management system [75].…”