Abstract
This paper discusses the effectiveness of rooftops rainwater harvesting (RRWH) in addressing domestic water scarcity, emphasizing the West Bank (Palestine) as an example of arid to semi-arid areas with limited water resources. The paper deals with the actual and future water demand by considering climate-change impact and urban growth. The analysis is based on the evaluation of (i) the supply–demand balance index (SDBI), which designates the ratio between the total water supply (TWS) and total water demand (TWD), and (ii) the potential of RRWH. Applying this methodology to the West Bank shows that the potential RRWH can contribute by about 40 million cubic meters/year in 2020, which is approximately the same amount of water as the municipal water supply (42 million cubic meters/year). This contribution can effectively reduce the suffering governorates from 64% to 27% in 2020. Furthermore, it can support water-related decision-makers in the arid to semi-arid areas in formulating efficient and sustainable water resources strategies. The analysis also shows that the domestic water scarcity in 2050 will be worse than in 2020 for all governorates. For example, 73% of the West Bank governorates are expected to suffer from extreme to acute water scarcity in 2050 compared to 64% in 2020. Thus, RRWH appears to be highly efficient in mitigating the current and future domestic water scarcity in the West Bank.
Highlights
This paper aims to analyze the capacity of rooftops rainwater harvesting (RRWH) in addressing the domestic water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas, such as the West Bank in Palestine
This paper presented an analysis of the capacity of rainwater harvesting to address the domestic water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas
The proposed methodology was applied to the West Bank to (i) assess the domestic water scarcity at the governorate level and (ii) investigate the potential of rooftops rainwater harvesting (RRWH) in addressing the domestic water scarcity challenges
Summary
This paper aims to analyze the capacity of rooftops rainwater harvesting (RRWH) in addressing the domestic water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas, such as the West Bank in Palestine. Areas suffering from domestic water scarcity are classified as risky to human health [2]. This scarcity increases the spread of infectious diseases (e.g., influenza, Ebola, and SARS) that could be controlled by adopting the needed washing and hygiene measures [3,4,5]. Domestic water scarcity is of increasing concern globally, especially in arid and semi-arid areas [7]. This could be attributed to the increasing water demand and the vulnerability of water resources under climate change [7,8,9]. In the West Bank, Palestine, the domestic water supply– demand gap reached 58 million cubic meters/year (40% of the water demand) in 2018 [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
