Evaluation of the Performance of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Domestic Use in Tlalpan, Mexico City
Abstract
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) as an alternative means of providing water in domestic contexts, is viewed as an effective supply option worldwide. In Mexico City, the water situation is critical and the provision of water services to the population represents a formidable challenge for the city’s water utilities. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential for RWH to supply domestic properties in Tlalpan, 1 of 16 delegations in the city with one of the highest percentages of homes unconnected to the distribution network. Results show RWH can meet 88% of household water demand during the 6 month wet season, with an annual saving of 55%. Modelling a World Health Organisation minimum demand of 20 l/p/d as a means of resilience management in the event of a water crisis, 6-month and annual savings were 99% and 80% respectively. The minimum tank size to achieve wet season savings of 90% was 6m3 in two precipitation bands and tank sizes of 13,000 – 17,000L were sufficient in 3 out of 4 to prevent overspill. The report concludes RWH is a viable method of providing water in the south of the city and should be part of an integrated water management solution.
Keywords
References
World Bank. High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy. World Bank, Washington, DC. (2016).
Consejo Nacional de Población (CONAPO). (2010). Proyecciones De La Población 2010 - 2050. [Projection of the Population 2010 – 2050].
Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA). (2010). Statistics on Water in Mexico. 2010 Edition, 1-15.
Delgado-Ramos, Gian Carlo. "Water and the political ecology of urban metabolism: the case of Mexico City." Journal of Political Ecology 22, no. 9 (2015).
Jiménez, Blanca. "The unintentional and intentional recharge of aquifers in the Tula and the Mexico Valleys: The Megalopolis needs Mega solutions." In Rosenberg Symposium, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2010.
SEMARNAT. (2012). Informe de la situación del medio ambiente en México [Report of the situation of the environment in Mexico]. Retrieved from http://app1.semarnat.gob.mx/dgeia/informe_12/06_agua/cap6_1.html.
Tortajada, Cecilia. "Water management in Mexico City metropolitan area." Water Resources Development 22, no. 2 (2006): 353-376. doi.org/10.1080/07900620600671367
Romero Lankao, Patricia. "Water in Mexico City: what will climate change bring to its history of water-related hazards and vulnerabilities?." Environment and Urbanization 22, no. 1 (2010): 157-178. doi.org/10.1177/0956247809362636
Magaña, Víctor, Joel Pérez, and Matías Méndez. "Diagnosis and prognosis of extreme precipitation events in the Mexico City Basin." GEOFISICA INTERNACIONAL-MEXICO- 42, no. 2 (2003): 247-260.
Barron, Jennie. Rainwater harvesting: a lifeline for human well-being. UNEP/Earthprint, 2009.
Coombes, Peter J., John R. Argue, and George Kuczera. "Figtree Place: a case study in water sensitive urban development (WSUD)." Urban Water 1, no. 4 (2000): 335-343. doi.org/10.1016/S1462-0758(00)00027-3
Ghisi, Enedir, Diego Lapolli Bressan, and Maurício Martini. "Rainwater tank capacity and potential for potable water savings by using rainwater in the residential sector of southeastern Brazil." Building and Environment 42, no. 4 (2007): 1654-1666. doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.02.007
Hajani, Evan, and Ataur Rahman. "Reliability and cost analysis of a rainwater harvesting system in peri-urban regions of Greater Sydney, Australia." Water 6, no. 4 (2014): 945-960. doi.org/10.3390/w6040945
Labadie, J.L, Valdivia, J.M., Sánchez, A.G., Hermosillo, O.M., Orozco, M.F., Llana, C.V.P., Barragán, P.M. Repensar La Cuenca: La Gestión De Ciclos Del Agua En El Valle De México, 1, no. 1 (2010): 1–26.
Burns, E. “¿De Dónde Vendrá Nuestra Agua?” Guía hacia la Sustentabilidad en la Cuenca de México. Guardianes de los Volcanes y Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. México, Comisión Ambiental Metropolitana-Programa, UAM. (2006).
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía [Institute of Nacional Statistics and Geography] (INEGI) (2010a). Retrieved from http://www3.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/sisept/default.aspx?t=mamb287&s=est&c=32905
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) (2010b). Panorama sociodemográfico del Distrito Federal [Socio-Demographic Outlook of the Federal District]. Retrieved from http://documents.mx/documents/delegaciones-panorama-df.html.
Isla Urbana. (2015). Encuestas de Seguimiento en la delegación Tlalpan [Questionnaire in the delegation Tlalpan]. August 2015.
Ghisi E, Tres ACR, Kotani M. Netuno—aproveitamento de aguas pluviais no setor residencial [Neptune—a computer programme to evaluate potable water savings and rainwater tank capacity in the residential sector] (In Portuguese). (2004).
Rocha, V.L. Validação do algoritmo do programa Netuno para avaliação do potencial de economia de água potável e dimensionamento de reservatórios de aproveitamento de água pluvial em edificações. (2009). [Validation of the Algorithm of the Netuno Computer Programme to Assess the Potential for Potable Water Savings and Sizing of Rainwater Tanks for Rainwater Usage in Buildings]. Master’s Dissertation. School of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil, 2009.
Sharma, Ashok K., Donald Begbie, and Ted Gardner, eds. Rainwater Tank Systems for Urban Water Supply. Iwa Publishing, 2015. 1-18. doi.org/10.2166/9781780405360
KRANRRC. Harvesting For Sustainable Water Resources Development and Climate Change Adaptation in an Arid Region (N-E of Iran), Khorasan Razavi Agricultural & Natural Resources Research Center and The Institute For Global Environmental Strategies. (2011).
Palla, A., I. Gnecco, and L. G. Lanza. "Non-dimensional design parameters and performance assessment of rainwater harvesting systems." Journal of Hydrology 401, no. 1 (2011): 65-76. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.02.009.
Ley de Aguas Nacionales. (2003). [National Water Law].
Islam, Kamal Ziaul, Md Sirajul Islam, Jean O. Lacoursière, and Lisa Dessborn. "Low cost rainwater harvesting: An alternate solution to salinity affected coastal region of Bangladesh." American Journal of Water Resources 2, no. 6 (2014): 141-148. doi.org/10.12691/ajwr-2-6-2
Heijnen, H. Enhancing economic resilience in North Eastern Brazil by harnessing rain. Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network (RAIN), Amsterdam. (2013).
Associates, M. J. (2007). The cost-effectiveness of rainwater tanks in urban Australia. Waterlines (Vol. 2008).
Rainwater Harvesting Organisation. Rainwater Harvesting in Germany. Centre for Science and Environment. (2017).
Morales-Pinzón, Tito, Rodrigo Lurueña, Joan Rieradevall, Carles M. Gasol, and Xavier Gabarrell. "Financial feasibility and environmental analysis of potential rainwater harvesting systems: A case study in Spain." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 69 (2012): 130-140. doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.09.014
Walton, B. India Cities Focus on Rainwater Harvesting to Provide Clean Drinking Water. Circle of blue. (2010).
DOI: 10.28991/cej-2017-00000080
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2017 Niall Patrick Nolan, Cecilia Lartigue
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
