Abstract

LOPEZ-HERNANDEZ, Nuria Aide et al. Rainwater harvesting systems design: an alternative for water supply. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2017, vol.8, n.6, pp.1433-1439. ISSN 2007-0934.

Rainwater harvesting systems are an alternative to reduce aquifers exploitation. The aim of this research was to design three systems to allocate water for domestic use of a household of four, for human consumption in an educational institution of thousand people and irrigation of Stevia rebaudiana in a greenhouse of half a hectare; and to compare the cost of rainwater harvesting with that of subsoil extraction. The three systems were proposed for the municipality of Calpulalpan, Tlaxcala. The development of the research consisted in generating a design methodology considering the rainfall estimation from a 75% occurrence probability and the sizing of the storage system using the mass balance method. In addition, the cost per cubic meter of rainwater captured against that of groundwater was compared. The results suggest that the use of rainwater may become economically more viable than groundwater extraction when water demand is low, besides representing a contribution to sustainable development of the municipality.

Keywords : economic viability; sustainable alternatives; use of rainwater.

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