Rainwater harvesting and greywater treatment systems for domestic application in Ireland

Water shortage has been recognised as one of the key issues facing many countries. Fortunately, there
are relatively abundant water resources available in Ireland because of its plenty of rainfall. However,
Ireland will inevitably encounter water shortage in the future, especially in urban areas. The water
consumption per capita per day in Ireland is one of the highest in Europe. The water demand is still
increasing due to population growth and higher standard of living. The use of domestic rainwater
harvesting and greywater treatment systems has the potential to supply nearly 94% of domestic water in
Irish households. The utilisation of these systems can help Irish householders achieve significant water
savings and avoid the domestic water bills that are due to be reintroduced. It also helps take pressure of
the centralised water supply to meet the increasing water demand in Ireland and eliminates issues such
as high leakage during delivery and large treatment costs for domestic utilisation. Domestic rainwater
harvesting and greywater treatment systems can play a very important role in future water management
and prospective sustainable living in Ireland.

Domestic rainwater harvesting to improve water supply in rural South Africa

Halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,
is one of the targets of the 7th Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In South Africa, with its mix of
developed and developing regions, 9.7 million (20%) of the people do not have access to adequate water
supply and 16 million (33%) lack proper sanitation services. Domestic Rainwater Harvesting (DRWH),
which provides water directly to households enables a number of small-scale productive activities, has
the potential to supply water even in rural and peri-urban areas that conventional technologies cannot
supply. As part of the effort to achieve the MDGs, the South African government has committed itself to
provide financial assistance to poor households for the capital cost of rainwater storage tanks and
related works in the rural areas. Despite this financial assistance, the legal status of DRWH remains
unclear and DRWH is in fact illegal by strict application of the water legislations. Beyond the cost of
installation, maintenance and proper use of the DRWH system to ensure its sustainability, there is risk of
waterborne diseases. This paper explores challenges to sustainable implementation of DRWH and
proposes some interventions which the South African government could implement to overcome them.

Roof rainwater harvesting systems for household water supply in Jordan

The largest environmental challenge that Jordan faces today is the scarcity of water. Current water use
already exceeds renewable supply. Many methods have been suggested to increase the sources of water
supply; one alternative source is rainwater harvesting. Rainfall harvesting from rural/urban catchments
has not received large attention in Jordan. In the absence of run-off sewer systems in most Jordanian
rural and urban areas, rainfall harvesting from roads, parking lots and rooftops can increase water supply
for various domestic uses and help combat the chronic water shortages in the country. The objectives of
this paper are to (1) evaluate the potential for potable water savings by using rainwater in residential
sectors of the 12 Jordanian governorates; and (2) provide some suggestions and recommendations
regarding the improvement of both quality and quantity of harvested rainwater. Results show that a
maximum of 15.5 Mm3/y of rainwater can be collected from roofs of residential buildings provided that
all surfaces are used and all rain falling on the surfaces is collected. This is equivalent to 5.6% of the total
domestic water supply of the year 2005. The potential for water harvesting varies among the
governorates, ranging from 0.023×106 m3 for the Aqaba governorate to 6.45×106 m3 for the Amman
governorate. The potential for potable water savings was estimated for the 12 governorates, and it
ranged from 0.27% to 19.7%. Analysis of samples of harvested rainwater from residential roofs indicated
that the measured inorganic compounds generally matched the WHO standards for drinking water. On
the other hand, fecal coliform, which is an important bacteriological parameter, exceeded the limits for
drinking water.