title: Urban rainwater harvesting systems: Research, implementation and future perspectives.
abstract: While the practice of rainwater harvesting (RWH) can be traced back millennia, the degree of its modern implementation varies greatly across the world, often with systems that do not maximize potential benefits. With a global focus, the pertinent practical, theoretical and social aspects of RWH are reviewed in order to ascertain the state of the art. Avenues for future research are also identified. A major finding is that the degree of RWH systems implementation and the technology selection are strongly influenced by economic constraints and local regulations. Moreover, despite design protocols having been set up in many countries, recommendations are still often organized only with the objective of conserving water without considering other potential benefits associated with the multiple-purpose nature of RWH. It is suggested that future work on RWH addresses three priority challenges. Firstly, more empirical data on system operation is needed to allow improved modelling by taking into account multiple objectives of RWH systems. Secondly, maintenance aspects and how they may impact the quality of collected rainwater should be explored in the future as a way to increase confidence on rainwater use. Finally, research should be devoted to the understanding of how institutional and socio-political support can be best targeted to improve system efficacy and community acceptance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria, 6, 95125, Catania, Italy. Electronic address: acampisa@dica.unict.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campisano
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Systems, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Systems, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Waterway Ecosystem Research Group, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Burnley, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental, Water & Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Friedler
authors.affiliation: Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7625, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: DeBusk
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lloyd N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Fisher-Jeffes
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Santa Catarina, Department of Civil Engineering, Laboratory of Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Florianópoli, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Enedir
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ghisi
authors.affiliation: School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Ataur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Water Environment Technology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furumai
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Mooyoung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D011891:Rain; D014881:Water Supply / Q000191:economics*
keywords: Rainwater harvesting; Stormwater management; Sustainable urban water systems; Water conservation; Water efficiency