EU INCO-DEV IC18980276: Domestic Roofwater Harvesting in the Humid Tropics
August 1998 - June 2001
The Domestic Roofwater Harvesting in the Humid Tropics project was a 3 year research funded by the European Commission. It was carried out by an international consortium known as the Roofwater Harvesting Research Group.
There are four partners:
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School of Engineering, Tel: +44 24 7652 2339 Contact: Mr Brett Martinson
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Kanalstr. 23 Tel: +49 7934 990030 Contact: Mr Hans Hartung
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Indian Institute of Technology: Delhi Centre for Rural Development and Appropriate Technology (RDAT) Tel: +91 11 6861977 (Ext. 3135/4033) Contact: Professor Padma Vasudevan
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Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum 239, High Level Road Tel: +94 75 524612/3 Contact: Ms. Tanuja Ariyananda |
Objectives and goals
The aim of the project is to generate reliable information about domestic roofwater harvesting (DRWH) for water policy planners, supply professionals and, ultimately, householders. The programme will examine literature and practice from many parts of the world, but it is expected that those from humid tropical areas (the focus of the programme) will be of most use, since Domestic Rainwater Harvesting technology and economics are dominated by factors like climate and culture. Thus, S.Asia and E.Africa have been selected as they are particularly favourable to this technology. Links are also being developed with practitioners in Central America where climatic conditions are locally similar.
The partners have complementary skills in laboratory science, technology choice, participatory field studies, water practice and behavioural science. All four partners have historical links with water users, normally but not always mediated by local non-governmental organisations. The Water Security Task will entail considerable observation of the values, needs and practices of both communities and individual water users through the methodology of participative rural surveys. One of the Partners - the Lanka RWH Forum is itself a consortium of water providers and water users. Only one of the four Tasks will concentrate specifically upon water providers rather than water users.
The Projects comprises the assessment of existing knowledge and the generation of new knowledge on four critical and strongly interacting aspects of DRWH, namely: technology, health implications, impact on domestic water security and compatibility with institutional value systems; in consequence there are four Tasks. Each partner will participate in either 2 or 3 of these Tasks, each of which will be under the leadership of a different partner. The Tasks are as follows:
Task A: Development of lower cost water storage
The development of low-cost storage techniques will be led by Warwick University and start with the rigorous evaluation of selected existing designs of water tanks (capacities 1500 to 15000 l). New methods of constructing below ground, surface and architecturally integrated tanks using minimum or new materials will be researched, laboratory tested and subjected to field trials in both regions. The economic objective is to reduce the capital cost per household of adequate DRWH storage to levels affordable to the masses.
Task B: Institutional values and decision making
The identification of organisational attitudes, knowledge and knowledge needs will be led by FAKT. Building upon the substantial existing knowledge of the partners and their water industry networks, this Task will employ structured interviews and the analysis of past decisions to measure these attitudes and needs.
Task C: Health implications of widespread use of DRWH
The identification of the health implications of widespread take-up of DRWH of various designs, led by IITD, to include the initial identification of health concerns under Task B. The objective of Task C is to identify the influence of different component and system designs on water pathogen content, and to identify ways of preventing the breeding of insect vectors in stored water. The methodology will employ the survey of the very scattered and uneven literature about LDC water quality, the interpretation of entomological knowledge into storage design rules, the performance of extensive field tests and some laboratory tests.
Task D: DRWH and water security
The study of the implications of DRWH upon water security, led by the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum, will explore the issue at three levels (householder, local community and region). At the householder level, the relationship between system parameters (like consumption rates, storage volume, climate) and potential water security will be modelled. At both householder and community levels the use (and often decline) of indigenous security strategies will be field surveyed and new strategies assessed. At the wider geographical level the potential contribution of DRWH to both rural and urban water security in the zone will be modelled, discussed with policy makers and recommendations developed concerning the best mix of DRWH with other supply
Project Reports
Technology
Current Technology for Storing Domestic Rainwater
(Jan 1999)
Research into single skin, externally reinforced, brick tanks and low-cost, thin-shell, ferrocement tank cover
(April 1999)
Stabilised Soil Tanks for Rainwater Storage
(September 2000)
Recommendations for designing Rainwater harvesting system tanks
(January 2001)
Institutions
Attitudes towards Rainwater Harvesting
(January 1999)
Domestic Rainwater Harvesting: Perceptions of Water Professionals and the way forward
(April 1999)
The inclusion of domestic roofwater harvesting in a national water legislation framework
(July 2001)
Health
DRWH Water Quality: A Literature Review
(May 1999)
DRWH and Insect Vectors: A Literature Review
(August 1999)
Water Quality In Domestic Roof Water Harvesting Systems
(September 2000)
DRWH Design & Insect Breeding
(March 2001)
Water Security
Household Water Security in Sri Lanka Using Domestic Roof Water Harvesting
(December 1998)
Concept Of Water Security Entailing Domestic Roof Water Harvesting
(September 1999)
Current Rural Water Security Practices with DRWH
(March 2000)
Household strategies for operating total and partial drwh to achieve water security under stress conditions recommended practices
(December 2000)
Domestic roof water harvesting and water security in the humid tropics
(June 2001)