Use of rain water in floor washing and garden irrigation: a case study

Abstract

The socioeconomic context brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, caused a crisis in the world economy. Faced with this situation of inflation and the rise of the dollar, access to basic items such as water and cooking gas has become an obstacle for the needy population. There are alternatives to overcome water scarcity, and one of them is the use of water harvesting systems with low-cost technologies, which facilitate replication in environments that do not have a water distribution network, allowing the economically disadvantaged population access the water. This work analyzes the use of rainwater in garden irrigation and floor washing in a public building. The case study was carried out at the Civil Court and Consumer Relations Court in Camaragibe, PE. The rainfall index and the history of water consumption were analyzed, as well as the analysis of rainwater in the study region. Reservoir simulations and economic analysis were performed using the NETUNO software. The economic simulation resulted in the value of R$3,000.00 (three thousand reais), and a payback time of 5 years. After analyzing the simulations and the results of the rainwater samples, as well as complying with the requirements of the ABNT 15527/2019 standard, it can be inferred that the implementation of rainwater harvesting for non-potable use is feasible.Keywords: Harvesting rainwater. Sustainability. Low cost technology.