Rainwater harvesting systems are orderly schemes in which organized components and techniques
harness and make rainwater available for human consumption and environmental conservation.
Thus, the planning and design of rainwater harvesting and storage in various structures should be
based on water supply for multiple uses. This is because communities in the target areas may use
the water not only to grow crops, but also for domestic use, livestock watering, as well as industrial
and commercial purposes.
Thus, a good quality RWH system is planned to provide communities with access to an on-site
water supply, if possible at home, or near their homesteads, or at locality that is easy to access.
Ideally, the RWH collection system should involve basic construction techniques, be inexpensive
to maintain, and have a long functional life span. If the system is designed well, it should provide
a good safe source of water at a relatively low cost when compared to the conventional methods
such as river diversion or ground water pumping.
In order to determine whether or not rainwater catchment systems are an appropriate choice of
water supply in any given situation it is necessary to estimate the potential rainwater yield to check
that it can meet the required demand. The reliability of the systems along with technical, socioeconomic
and environmental considerations must be compared with all alternative forms of
supply.
PLANNING WATER HARVESTING AND STORAGE SYSTEMS