Assessment of Rainwater Availability by Building Type and Water Use Through GIS-based Scenario Analysis

Scenario analysis of rainwater harvesting and utilization (RWHU) was performed considering various non-potable water uses in different building types over a year. Six building types were identified in the study area using GIS data: residential houses, offices, commercial buildings, restaurants, public buildings, and “others”. Rainwater storage capacity was considered as 30 mm rainwater depth. Water demand for each building type was calculated as the sum of the individual water uses for toilet flushing, air conditioning, garden irrigation, and cleaning defined in this study as “miscellaneous usages”. To incorporate water quality considerations, rainwater with suspended solids level of less than 2 mg l<Superscript>−1</Superscript> was used as the quality criterion. The RWHU scenario was compared with other storage and water use scenarios. This study quantified the rainwater availability throughout a year and its seasonal variation and consumption in each building type. The analysis clarified the effectiveness of rainwater utilization for supplementing existing water resources. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012