Rainwater Harvesting System as an Alternative Water Source

The objectives of this study were to install RCR systems at a typical single family house and a school in Alabama, and evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of using the RCR systems for water harvesting in Alabama. The RCR systemswere equipped with a control system and a CR10X data logger to monitor the system operation and to collect data on precipitation, temperature, overflow, water depth in the storage tank and daily uses of toilet flushing. Daily average water use of the home for toilet flushing was 95 liter and 2100 liter was used at the school during the school days. Rainwater harvesting efficiency was 83.3 and 89 percent and RCR use efficiency was 18 and 98 percent from the home and the school, respectively. A computer program was developed to estimate potential effectiveness of RCR systems. From the analysis result with 10 years rainfall data, a total of 67,000 liters of rainwater could be harvested for domestic uses from a typical single family house which supplies 190 liters per day.