TY - JOUR
T1 - Rainwater harvesting in Greater Sydney : water savings, reliability and economic benefits
AU - Rahman, Ataur
AU - Keane, Joseph
AU - Imteaz, Monzur Alam
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Due to greater environmental awareness and mandatory water restrictions in many Australian cities, rainwater tanks have become popular in recent years. This paper investigates the water savings potential of rainwater tanks fitted in detached houses at 10 different locations in Greater Sydney, Australia. A water balance simulation model on daily time scale is developed and water savings, reliability and financial viability are examined for three different tank sizes, 2 kL, 3 kL and 5 kL. It is found that the average annual water savings from rainwater tanks are strongly correlated with average annual rainfall. It is also found that the benefit cost ratios for the rainwater tanks are smaller than 1.00 without government rebate. It is noted that a 5 kL tank is preferable to 2 kL and 3 kL tanks and rainwater tanks should be connected to toilet, laundry and outdoor irrigation to achieve the best financial outcome for the home owners. The results from this study suggest that government authorities in Sydney should maintain or possibly increase the rebate for rainwater tanks to enhance its acceptance.
AB - Due to greater environmental awareness and mandatory water restrictions in many Australian cities, rainwater tanks have become popular in recent years. This paper investigates the water savings potential of rainwater tanks fitted in detached houses at 10 different locations in Greater Sydney, Australia. A water balance simulation model on daily time scale is developed and water savings, reliability and financial viability are examined for three different tank sizes, 2 kL, 3 kL and 5 kL. It is found that the average annual water savings from rainwater tanks are strongly correlated with average annual rainfall. It is also found that the benefit cost ratios for the rainwater tanks are smaller than 1.00 without government rebate. It is noted that a 5 kL tank is preferable to 2 kL and 3 kL tanks and rainwater tanks should be connected to toilet, laundry and outdoor irrigation to achieve the best financial outcome for the home owners. The results from this study suggest that government authorities in Sydney should maintain or possibly increase the rebate for rainwater tanks to enhance its acceptance.
KW - annual rainfall
KW - life cycle cost analysis
KW - rainwater tanks
KW - sustainable water use
KW - tank rebate
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/516327
U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.12.002
M3 - Article
SN - 0921-3449
VL - 61
SP - 16
EP - 21
JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
ER -
