Abstract
The need for rainwater harvesting is continuously growing as a supplement to other water sources and the operation and maintenance costs remain low after the initial investment. The daily water balance method was used to determine the optimal rainwater harvesting tank size. Princeton Global Forcing (PGF) data gridded at (0.25° × 0.25°) is used after comparison with observed data. Correlations between PGF and observed stations varied by under or overestimating the precipitation. PGF series could ably reproduce observed rainfall, hence were used. The optimum water tank size varies based on the collection area, climatic conditions, and water pricing. According to the results, reliability is higher for larger rainwater tank sizes and higher for larger collections areas. Areas that receive more rainfall have higher reliabilities and require smaller tank sizes. Meeting 100% reliabilities requires collection areas greater than 500 m2 for demand of 750 L/day. Reliability was investigated for different tank volumes and an insignificant increase in reliability was observed for tank sizes greater than 50 m3. A roof collection area of at least 250 m2 and a tank size of 120 m3 and above is recommended to achieve more than 50% reliability. Installation of RWH systems is viable with a payback period of fewer than 4 years. The payback period is shorter for areas that receive high rainfall. The results in this study serve as a tool for comparison with other studies on evaluating the performance of rainwater harvesting systems and the possibility of using RWH systems beyond domestic and irrigation purposes.
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