Construction and Evaluation of Rainwater Harvesting System for Domestic Use in a Remote and Rural Area of Khulna, Bangladesh

Scarcity of pure drinking water during the dry season (November-March) is a major problem in Bangladesh, which needs to be addressed. This crisis has been further aggravated due to surging populations. Rainwater can provide some of the cleanest naturally occurring water and can hold a great potential in dealing with the current challenge of acute arsenic poisoning as well as physical water scarcity in many parts of Bangladesh. In this connection, rainwater harvesting (RWH) system has been constructed in a very remote and rural village in Khulna, Bangladesh, for a 4-membered household. It consists of a concrete catchment of 40 m(2) area, a supporting and collection system made of PVC pipes, and two locally available plastic storage tanks having capacity of 2000 L each. The study also investigates the quality aspects of the stored rainwater, which include measurement of pH, alkalinity, hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), iron, chloride, nitrate, and turbidity, using standard methods. The results showed that not only the quality of harvested rainwater is good but also the amount of water is enough for a 4-membered household to meet its domestic use throughout the year.