Estimating the Rainwater Potential per Household in an Urban Area: Case Study in Central Mexico

Water

Liliana Lizárraga-Mendiola²  Gabriela Vázquez-Rodríguez³  Alberto Blanco-Piñón¹  Yamile Rangel-Martínez²  Mar໚ González-Sandoval² 

[1] Área Académica de Ciencias de la Tierra y Materiales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carr. Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5 Col. Carboneras, Mineral de la Reforma 42184, Mexico; E-Mail:;Área Académica de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carr. Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5 Col. Carboneras, Mineral de la Reforma 42184, Mexico; E-Mails:;Área Académica de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carr. Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5 Col. Carboneras, Mineral de la Reforma 42184, Mexico; E-Mail:

关键词: domestic consumption;    harvesting;    Central Mexico;    rainwater;    roof area;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w7094622

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In cities with problems of aridity and a shortage of drinking water supply, there is an urgent need to establish alternatives for an adequate water management program. This study proposes an estimation through which users can select a rainwater harvesting system for non-drinking water consumption. For the cities of Pachuca and Mineral de la Reforma, State of Hidalgo, Central Mexico, the historical record of rainfall analyzed covers a period of 33 years (1980–2013). We calculated the monthly volume of rainwater harvestable from roof areas (VR, m³) with household roof areas (Hra) of 45 m², 50 m², 100 m² and 200 m². It is proposed to replace in each single house the flush toilets and washing machine with ecological devices with consumptions of 4.8 L/flush and 70 L/load, respectively. Furthermore, a maximum and a minimum consumption of eight and six flushes/day/person (flush toilets) and five and four loads/week (washing machine), respectively, are proposed. From these considerations, our estimations of the harvestable rainwater showed that households with Hra of 45 m² and 50 m² would depend on the water supply system of the public network during part of the year. On the other hand, households with Hra of 100 m² and 200 m² might be able to store enough water to meet other needs besides toilet flushing and laundry.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.