Department of Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University, 813 Bissell Road, Office 498, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Aug;366:121776. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121776. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
Addressing resilience, sustainability, and water resource conservation has become increasingly important in the modern world. Challenges arise due to periodic droughts, climate change, and seasonal variability in areas with limited freshwater availability. Therefore, implementing and promoting water reuse is essential. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is one such alternative, offering benefits in conserving water resources and mitigating droughts while reducing urban flooding and costs by generating alternative lower-cost water sources. Providing users with knowledge of available volumes for harvesting, including homeowners and governmental entities, is key to encouraging this practice. Hydrological data and geographic information systems are fundamental for managing, designing, and projecting rainwater harvesting practices. However, no tools currently integrate this information at multiple scales with current and future climate scenarios. This research aimed to develop a multi-scale assessment tool named H2O HARVEST, for evaluating the availability and potential of rainwater harvesting. Additional benefits of the H2O HARVEST app include aiding decision-making by national governmental entities and analyzing potential future scenarios for homeowner users. The app also provides regulatory policy information at the state level. We offer an app with the necessary capabilities to bridge the technology gap and promote rainwater harvesting practices. Our research demonstrated that RWH has the potential to be a sustainable water reuse practice. For more than 50% of the states, the RWH could supply at least 50% of the water demand. The regions of the US with the greatest potential are the Central and East.
在现代社会，解决弹性、可持续性和水资源保护问题变得越来越重要。由于周期性干旱、气候变化以及淡水资源有限地区的季节性变化，这些问题带来了挑战。因此，实施和推广水的再利用是至关重要的。雨水收集（RWH）就是一种替代方案，它在节约水资源、缓解干旱方面具有优势，同时通过生成替代的低成本水源来减少城市洪水和成本。为了鼓励这种做法，为用户提供有关可收集水量的知识，包括房主和政府实体，这是关键。水文数据和地理信息系统是管理、设计和预测雨水收集实践的基础。然而，目前没有工具可以将这些信息与当前和未来的气候情景整合到多个尺度上。本研究旨在开发一种名为 H2O HARVEST 的多尺度评估工具，用于评估雨水收集的可用性和潜力。H2O HARVEST 应用程序的其他好处包括为国家政府实体提供决策辅助，并分析房主用户的潜在未来情景。该应用程序还提供州一级的监管政策信息。我们提供了一个具有必要功能的应用程序，以缩小技术差距并促进雨水收集实践。我们的研究表明，RWH 有潜力成为一种可持续的水再利用实践。对于超过 50%的州，RWH 可以至少供应 50%的水需求。美国潜力最大的地区是中部和东部。
