School of Computing and Engineering, University of West London, St Mary's Rd, London, W5 5RF, UK.
Centre for Water Systems, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2018 Jul;25(20):19271-19282. doi: 10.1007/s11356-017-0546-5. Epub 2017 Oct 31.
Although rainwater harvesting (RWH) schemes have gradually gained more credibility and popularity in recent times, efficient utilisation and larger scale implementation of multi-purpose RWH are still a challenging task. This paper aims to explore the potential of using smart RWH schemes and their impact on the efficiency improvement in integrated urban water systems (UWS). The smart RWH scheme analysed here is capable of proactively controlling the tank water level to ensure sufficient spare storage is maintained at all times that accommodates the runoff from storm events. The multi-purpose RWH tank can mitigate local floods during rainfall events and supply harvested rainwater to non-potable residential water consumption. Optimal design parameters of the smart RWH scheme are also identified to achieve the best operational performance of the UWS. WaterMet model is used to assess the performance of the UWS with smart RWH schemes. The efficiency of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through modelling a real case of integrated UWS. The results obtained indicate that utilisation of smart RWH with an optimally sized tank, compared to the corresponding conventional RWH, is able to significantly improve the UWS efficiency in terms of mitigation of local flooding and reliability of water supply from harvested rainwater.
尽管雨水收集（RWH）计划在最近一段时间逐渐获得了更多的可信度和知名度，但高效利用和更大规模地实施多用途 RWH 仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。本文旨在探讨使用智能 RWH 计划的潜力及其对综合城市供水系统（UWS）效率提高的影响。本文分析的智能 RWH 计划能够主动控制水箱水位，以确保始终保持足够的备用储存量，以容纳暴雨事件产生的径流。多用途 RWH 水箱可以在降雨事件中减轻当地洪水，并为非饮用水居民用水供应收集的雨水。还确定了智能 RWH 计划的最佳设计参数，以实现 UWS 的最佳运行性能。WaterMet 模型用于评估具有智能 RWH 计划的 UWS 的性能。通过对综合 UWS 的实际案例进行建模，证明了所提出方法的有效性。结果表明，与相应的传统 RWH 相比，使用具有最佳尺寸水箱的智能 RWH 能够显著提高 UWS 的效率，从而减轻当地洪水和从收集的雨水供应水的可靠性。
