Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Articles Information
Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Vol.3, No.6, Dec. 2017, Pub. Date: Jan. 16, 2018
An Assessment of the Quality of Rainwater Harvested Using Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) Technologies in Swaziland
Pages: 55-64 Views: 1943 Downloads: 707
Authors
[01] Bruce Roy Thulane Vilane, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Swaziland, Luyengo Campus, Swaziland.
[02] Gwebu Simiso, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Swaziland, Luyengo Campus, Swaziland.
Abstract
Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the interception of rainwater from rooftop catchments and storing it in surface or subsurface reservoirs. Rainfall is pure and clean when it is released from the clouds but it is polluted upon reaching the atmosphere and the intercepting surface. An experiment was designed to determine the water quality of the rooftop RWH technologies studied. There were five treatments with two replications. The treatments were CPP, CFP, TPP, CMC and CB. The WHO drinking water quality guidelines were used as a control. The water quality parameters investigated were physical, chemical and biological. The rainwater samples were tested at the Swaziland Water Services Cooperation laboratory and data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA utilizing SPSS computer software (version 20). The results reflected that the mean physical parameters of the rainwater harvested from the CPP, CFP, TPP, CMC and CB were 6.90, 6.76, .16, 6.57 and 7.05 for pH, respectively; 3.0 NTU, 2.0 NTU, 2.5 NTU, 4.0 NTU and 9.5 NTU for turbidity, respectively and 16.0 mg/L, 11.5 mg/l, 10.5 mg/L, 21.5 mg/L, and 14.0 mg/L, for colour, respectively). The mean chemical parameters i.e. zinc, fluoride, aluminium and sulphate were 2.04 mg/L, 0.16 mg/L, 0.0218 mg/L and 1.1 mg/L, respectively. The bacteriological quality results i.e. total and faecal coliforms had means of 129 counts per 100 ml and 21 counts per 100 ml, respectively. It was concluded that the quality of the rainwater harvested from the rooftop RWH technologies studied was polluted with faecal matter, hence not fit for domestic use without treatment. However, it was also concluded that with the exception of turbidity and colour, the physical water quality of the rainwater harvested from the rooftop RWH technologies was acceptable for domestic use.
Keywords
Rooftop, Rainwater, Harvesting, Technologies, Swaziland
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