Project 05: Non-conventional urban water resources

Urbanization is tremendous in the SAGE-region and more and more urban areas suffer from temporal water shortages. This project evaluates the potential of non-conventional urban water resources and proposes avenues for more sustainable urban water use. Rainwater harvesting has been practiced for millennia in the region and facilities exist up to the present day. However, potentials are rarely fully exploited, maintenance is often inadequate and official regulations as well as personal restraints prevent an efficient use of the harvested water.

The present project aims at identifying existing potentials for urban roof rainwater harvesting and studies most efficient ways of water storage including optimized cistern capacities and materials. Here, also historic information (e.g. from the Nabateans) is used. We particularly focus on water quality aspects, both during water harvest and storage.

We first conduct a literature survey on how harvested water in Jordan obeys to existing quality standards for different types of water use. With the help of simulation tools and installed sensors, we then analyse which temporal resolution of rainfall measurements is necessary to accurately estimate the amount of harvested roof runoff. A systematic analysis finally compares ancient rock cisterns to present systems.

Team

Leave a Reply

Scroll to Top