Assessment of Stormwater Harvesting Potential: The Case Study of South Korea

Abstract

Stormwater harvesting (SWH) is emerging as a vital adaptive strategy for urban climate resilience. In South Korea, different types of storage facilities have been constructed under different regulations and laws. Each type of storage facility has its own original purpose of construction. Although these facilities have better outcomes, we aim to investigate the potential use of these facilities as additional water resources. In this study, we assess the stormwater harvesting (SWH) potential of different types of already-constructed storage facilities. Five different types of storage facilities and three different cases are considered in the present study. Case 1 excludes SWH volume during the flood and winter seasons, while in Case 2, only winter season SWH volume is excluded. In Case 3, the winter season and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) facilities are excluded. The Rainwater Utilization Facility is considered as a baseline for comparison in the present study. The results show that, in Case 2, the Sewage Storage Facility, Stormwater Runoff Reduction Facility, Nonpoint Pollution Reduction Facility, and Buffer Storage Facility has 53.5, 4, 2.4, and 1.2 times more stormwater average annual usage potential, respectively. The findings suggest that these facilities can be utilized as additional water resources. It should be mentioned that the primary objective for which each facility was constructed will remain unaffected. Nevertheless, forthcoming research should focus on a detailed exploration of the quality of the collected stormwater and the energy required to supply the stormwater for the end usage.