Nanteza, Jamiat;
Thomas, Brian;
Kisembe, Jesse;
Nakabugo, Rhoda;
Mukwaya, Paul Isolo;
Rodell, Mathew;
(2022)
A Google Earth-GIS based approach to examine the potential of the current rainwater harvesting practices to meet water demands in Mityana district, Uganda.
PLOS Water
, 1
(11)
, Article e0000045. 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000045.
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Abstract
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has become an integral part of global efforts to improve water access. Despite the increasing adoption of RWH in Uganda, there remains a significant knowledge gap in the assessment of RWH systems to meet water demands. In this study, a simplified methodology to estimate rainwater harvesting potential (RWHP) as a function of mean seasonal rainfall and rooftop area, generated using Google Earth and GIS tools is applied. Desired tank storage (DTS) capacities based on user population, demand and dry period lengths, were compared with RWHP to assess whether rooftop areas and tank storage can sustainably supply water for use during the March—May (MAM) and September-November (SON) 90-day dry periods, for three demand levels (i.e. for drinking and cooking (15 litres per capita per day (l/c/d)); for drinking, cooking and hand washing (20 l/c/d); and for drinking, cooking, hand washing, bathing and laundry (50 l/c/d)). Our findings document minimum catchment areas of 60m2 to have rainwater harvesting potential that can sustain households for 90-day dry periods for all three demand levels. However, considering their storage capacities, 25%, 48% and 97% of the existing RWHTs (with storage capacities below 8,000, 10,000 and 20,000 litres respectively) are unable to meet the demand of 15 l/c/d, 20 l/c/d and 50 l/c/d respectively for a 90-day dry period. The results document that the existing storage systems are under-sized for estimated water use under 50 l/c/d demand scenarios. Costs of between 2,000,000–4,500,000 Ugandan shillings (~ 600–1, 250 USD) would be needed to increase existing tank capacities to meet the 50 l/c/d demands for a 90-day dry period. These findings document onerous financial costs to achieve rainwater harvesting potential, meaning that households in Mityana district may have to resort to other sources of water during times of shortage.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Google Earth-GIS based approach to examine the potential of the current rainwater harvesting practices to meet water demands in Mityana district, Uganda |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000045 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000045 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10164866 |
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