Contribution of Rainfall on Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting and Saving on the Slopes of Mt. Elgon, East Africa
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Date
2020
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Publisher
The Scientific World Journal
Abstract
Despite the achievements reported from using rainwater harvesting systems, the contribution and drawbacks that affect their
usage in mountainous landscapes have received little attention. 'e uptake and usage of domestic rooftop rainwater harvesting
systems (RRWHS) in developing countries is on the increase due to increasing water scarcities. We explored the effect of rainfall
variability on water supply and the downsides of using the systems by rural households in Uganda. 'e objectives were to assess
the variability of rainfall (1985–2018), categorise RRWHS used, and examine the influence of slope ranges on the placement of
systems and also to quantify the harvested and saved rainwater and establish the factors that affected system usage. Rainfall
variability was assessed using a Mann–Kendall test, while system contributions and drawbacks were examined using socioeconomic
data. A representative of 444 households were selected using a multicluster sampling procedure and interviewed using
semistructured questionnaires. Findings revealed that the months of March, April, September, August, and October experienced
an upward trend of rainfall with a monthly coefficient of variation between 41 and 126%. With this, households responded by
employing fixed (reinforced concrete tanks, corrugated iron tanks, and plastic tanks) and mobile RRWHS (saucepans, metallic
drums/plastic drums, jerrycans, and clay pots). At the high altitude, households deployed mostly plastic jerrycans and industrial
plastic/metallic drums to harvest and save water. Overall, the mean annual volume of rainwater harvested on the slopes of Mt.
Elgon was 163,063m3/yr, while the potential to save water ranged from 4% to 7% of the annual household water demand. 'e
factors that hindered the deployment of RRWHS to harvest and save water were high operational costs, price fluctuations,
unreliable rainfall pattern, inadequate funds, and limited accessibility. 'erainfall received if well-harvested and saved can redeem
households of water insecurity, though there is an urgent need of subsidies from the government to increase accessibility of
the systems.
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Keywords
Rainfall, Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting, Slopes, Mt. Elgon, East Africa
Citation
Bernard, B., & Joyfred, A. (2020). Contribution of rainfall on rooftop rainwater harvesting and saving on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, East Africa. The Scientific World Journal, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7196342