Rainwater Harvesting: A Challenging Strategy to Relieve Water Scarcity in Rural Areas

Abstract

In recent decades water demand around the world has increased due to the scarcity of water. In the arid countries, water resources are characterized by a very high sensitivity to climatic fluctuations, an irregularity in time and an imbalance of spatial distribution in addition to vulnerability to drought and pollution. In most developing countries, there is frequently a shortage of drinking water supplies infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Consequently, interest has been rising in the use of rainwater harvesting which is considered as a climate adaptation strategy and was applied by many civilizations in the history of humanity. The populations of these areas resort on this method in order to have a continuous source of water for their own use by storing water in traditional reservoirs or small individual sized systems. In fact, it’s one of the major drinking water supplies in rural areas that ensures a sustainable resource of water that is at least sufficient especially during drought periods. These reservoirs are fed from rainwater and/or directly from surface water of rivers after rainfall, and this water is generally consumed by the surrounding population without any treatment. Uncontrolled water storage in itself brings deterioration of its quality.