Rainwater harvesting for drinking purposes in rural areas : a case study in Western Sydney

![CDATA[The objective of this paper is to develop a simple low-cost sand filter system that would remove contaminants commonly found in roof harvested rainwater. Experimental results of four different slow and filters are analysed to evaluate the water quality before and after filtration and to compare with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). The water is tested for specific properties such as taste, colour, odour, microorganism and chemical contents. There are two specific research questions that this research has answered. Firstly, can a simple slow sand filtration system be developed to filter harvested rainwater for drinking purposes in rural areas? Secondly, does the filtered rainwater quality meet the ADWGs? It has been found that the slow sand filter is capable of treating the roof harvested rainwater adequately; however, the study needs to be continued over at least one year to test for general weather and hydrological conditions.]]