Potential of rainwater harvesting in Greater Sydney : a proposed educational tool for Sydney school children

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is recognised as a sustainable means to overcome water scarcity and cope with the climate change and variability. RWH can be an important supplementary source of water in parts of the world like Sydney in Australia where water demand is as high as 300 litres per person per day on average, which is very high compared to many developing countries. Due to higher water demand and environmental awareness, RWH systems have become very popular in Sydney in recent years. This study explores how rainwater can best be harvested across Sydney and how a school education tool can be developed to create water conservation awareness among school students in Sydney. In the data analysis, stations were used covering three study periods, 30 years (1986-2015), 50 years (1966-2015), and 70 years (1946-2015). Spatial and temporal analysis is done to demonstrate rainfall variability and potential of rainwater harvesting in Greater Sydney. This paper proposes an educational tool to be developed that can be used to identify the locations where more water can be saved within Sydney. Further research is continued to develop this tool in near future.