• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2013

This study is an attempt to quantify rainwater utilization and miscellaneous water demand in Tokyo's 23 special wards, the core of the urban area in Tokyo, Japan, in order to elucidate the potential of further rainwater utilization. The rainwater utilization for miscellaneous appropriate water demands, including toilet flushing, air conditioning, and garden irrigation, were calculated for six different types of building: residential house, office, department store, supermarket, restaurant, and accommodation. Miscellaneous water demands in these different types of building were expressed in terms of equivalent rainfall of 767, 1,133, 3,318, 1,887, 16,574, and 2,227 (mm/yr), respectively, compared with 1,528 mm of Tokyo's average annual precipitation. Building types, numbers and its height were considered in this study area using geographic information system data to quantify miscellaneous water demands and the amount of rainwater utilization in each ward. Area precipitation-demand ratio was used to measure rainwater utilization potential for miscellaneous water demands. Office and commercial areas, such as Chiyoda ward, showed rainwater utilization potentials of <0.3, which was relatively low compared to those wards where many residential houses are located. This is attributed to the relatively high miscellaneous water demand. In light of rainwater utilization based on building level, the introduction of rainwater storage mechanisms with a storage depth of 50 mm for six different types of buildings was considered, and calculated as rainfall of 573, 679, 819, 766, 930, and 787 (mm), respectively. Total rainwater utilization using such storage facilities in each building from 23 wards resulted in the retention of 102,760,000 $m^3$ of water for use in miscellaneous applications annually, and this volume corresponded to 26.3% of annual miscellaneous water demand.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.223-231
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• 2013

Excessive precipitation, drought, heat waves, strong typhoons and rising sea levels are just some of the common indicators of climate change. In the Philippines, excessive precipitation never failed to devastate and drown the streets of Metro Manila, a highly urbanized and flood-prone area; such problems are expected to occur frequently. Moreover, the water supply of Metro Manila is dependent only to Angat Reservoir. Rainwater harvesting can serve as an alternative source of raw water and it can mitigate the effects of flooding. The harvested rainwater can be used for: potable consumption if filtered and disinfected; and non-potable consumptions (e.g., irrigation, flushing toilets, carwash, gardening, etc.) if used untreated. The rainfall data were gathered from all 5 rainfall stations located in Metro Manila namely: Science Garden, Port Area, Polo, Nangka and Napindan rain gauge stations. To be able to determine the potential volume of rainwater harvested and the potentiality of rainwater harvesting system as an alternate source of raw water; in this study, three different climatic conditions were considered, the dry, median and wet rainfall years. The frequent occurrence of cyclonic events in the Philippines brought significant amount of rainwater that causes flooding in the highly urbanized region of Metro Manila. Based from the results of this study, the utilization of rainwater harvesting system can serve as an alternative source of non-potable water for the community; and could also reduce the amount of surface runoff that could result to extreme flooding.