Revealing community capacity for applying rain water harvesting in Semarang coastal areas

Abstract

ABSTRACT Public participation is essential in integrated water management, including in the implementation of rainwater harvesting (RWH). RWH is an alternative water supply generation method that can be implemented at the household level. Residents in drought-prone areas with a lack of water supplies system who rely on private vendors for clean water provision may utilise this method. However, it is difficult to encourage the community to apply RWH because of socio-economic constraints. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the willingness and ability of a community in the Semarang coastal areas to apply RWH. The research was done through quantitative method by distributing questionnaires to 96 respondents to determine their knowledge, ability, and willingness to implement RWH. Rainwater potential was calculated by comparing the maximum volume of rainwater that can be captured annually to the volume of water demand. The estimated results were communicated to the community members and we further explore their responses to comprehend the possibility and advantages of applying RWH. Factors that influence community capacity were also analysed through factor analysis. The community members emphasized that the high cost of adopting RWH is the main reason they object to the idea. In addition, there are also health concern that make the community refuse to use RWH. Therefore, RWH implementation requires both support from the government and collective participation of community leaders as role models.