Estimating the Rainwater Potential per Household in an Urban Area: Case Study in Central Mexico

Abstract:Rainwater harvesting (RWH) may be an effective alternative water supply solution in regions affected by water scarcity. It has recently become a particularly important option in arid and semi-arid areas (like Mediterranean basins), mostly because of its many benefits and affordable costs. This study provides an analysis of the reliability of using a rainwater harvesting system to supply water for toilet flushing and garden irrigation purposes, with reference to a single-family home in a residential area of Sicily (Southern Italy). A flushing water demand pattern was evaluated using water consumption data collected from a sample of residential customers during an extended measurement campaign. A daily water balance simulation of the rainwater storage tank was performed, and the yield-after-spillage algorithm was used to define the tank release rule. The model's performance was evaluated using rainfall data from more than 100 different sites located throughout the Sicilian territory. This regional analysis provided annual reliability curves for the system as a function of mean annual precipitation, which have practical applications in this area of study. The uncertainty related to the regional model predictions was also assessed. A cost-benefit analysis highlighted that the implementation of a rainwater harvesting system in Sicily can provide environmental and economic advantages over traditional water supply methods. In particular, the regional analysis identified areas where the application of this system would be most effective.

Section: Water Demand For Toilet Flushingsupporting

confidence: 77%

A Reliability Analysis of a Rainfall Harvesting System in Southern Italy

Liuzzo

Notaro

Freni

2016

“…The RWH modelling framework developed by Huang et al [51] is capable of selecting a flexible and practical spatial arrangement and capacity design approach for RWH to serve as an alternative means for urban flood mitigation. The RWH system can assist in solving water supply problems even in arid regions as noted by Lizárraga-Mendiola et al [52] and Adham et al [45]. A similar conclusion was reached by Hajani and Rahman [28].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…In a study in Pachuca and Mineral de la Reforma, State of Hidalgo, Central Mexico by Lizárraga-Mendiola et al [52] demonstrated that the harvestable rainwater from a roof area of 45 m 2 and 50 m 2 would be sufficient most of the year to meet toilet flushing and washing machine water demand; however, 100 m 2 and 200 m 2 roof area could provide enough water to meet other water demand too.…”

Section: Summary Of This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Modelling and Implementation of Rainwater Harvesting Systems towards Sustainable Development

Rahman

2017

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is perhaps the most ancient practice to meet water supply needs. It has received renewed attention since the 1970s as a productive water source, water savings and conservation means, and sustainable development tool. In RWH, it is important to know how much water can be harvested at a given location from a given catchment size, whether the harvested water meets the intended water quality, whether the RWH system is economically viable and whether the state regulations favor the RWH. Furthermore, the selected RWH system should be suitable to local rainfall and field conditions, downstream impacts, and socio-economic and cultural characteristics. In this regard, this paper provides an overview of the special issue on "Rainwater Harvesting: Quantity, Quality, Economics and State Regulations". The selected papers cover a wide range of issues that are relevant to RWH such as regionalization of design curves, use of spatial technology, urban agriculture, arid-region water supply, multi criteria analysis and application of artificial neural networks.

“…Lizárraga-Mendiola et al [18] mentioned over in a period of 33 years (1980 to 2013), the highest annual R was registered in this site in 2010 (585.6 mm/year), with a tendency for further increases. In the same work, the hydrological variables were calculated from the annual R for the year 1982, since it is the driest year (181.10 mm/year).…”

Section: Bioretention Cell Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a previous rainfall variability analysis, 1982 and 2010 were identified as the driest and the rainiest years (181.1 mm/year and 585.6 mm/year, respectively) and selected for this hydrological design [18].…”

Section: Description Of General Characteristics Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological Design of Two Low-Impact Development Techniques in a Semi-Arid Climate Zone of Central Mexico

Lizárraga-Mendiola

Vázquez‐Rodríguez

Lucho-Constantino

et al. 2017

Self Cite

This paper deals with the design of a bioretention cell and an infiltration trench in a semi-arid micro watershed. The study area was analyzed by characteristics such as slope changes (S), direction and maximum length of the urban runoff (L), and soil use (runoff coefficient, R c ). The bioretention cell was designed by the calculation of variables such as drainage area (A), concentration time (T c ), rainfall intensity (i), maximum peak drained (Q max ), inlet and outlet runoff (Q a and Q out , respectively), temperature (T), evaporation (Ev), potential evapotranspiration (PE m ), consumptive use (U) for tolerant plants to semi-arid climates, and soil infiltration capacity (Inf ). To design the infiltration trench, only T c , Q max , and i were taken into account. The results showed that the designed bioretention cell could retain between 5.37% and 2.25% of runoff volume. As the efficiency of the bioretention cell can be defined by the need for additional irrigation, our results showed that the cell is inefficient in some of the dry months (November and December), even in years characterized by abundant rainfall. Besides, it was shown that the designed infiltration trench could store or infiltrate the water from typical rain events. Based on these results, it is the implementation of more Low-Impact Development (LID) for runoff management in the study area is recommended.