10th
International Rainwater Catchment Systems Conference
"Rainwater
International 2001"
Mannheim, Germany - September 2001
Section
2:
Rainwater Catchment in Humid and Arid Regions
Paper
2.4
Post-evaluation of a Rainwater Harvesting Project
Sha Lusheng, Li Huilong, Wang Yongsheng, Zhang Hongtao
Yangzhou University
China
email: shuijk@yzu.edu.cn
Introduction
Because of aridity, the loess plateau in northwest China, the massif
areas in north China, the karst mountain areas in southwest China as well
as China's coastal areas are lacking water resources. The total water-deficient
area is about 2 million km2 with a population of 260 million. The cultivated
land encompasses 26 million ha and 34.2 million people are short of drinking
water.
As a small-size water conservancy installation, rainwater storage and
harvesting facilities are a simple, low-cost and effective way to solve
the water problem. It is evident that the development of such facilities
is important for people living in water-deficient areas. to improve their
production and living conditions.
Rainwater utilization has a long history in China and since the 1980s
it has been developed rapidly all over the country. According to incomplete
figures, more than 4.64 million small and mini-sized rainwater storage
facilities, including various cisterns and ponds, have been built. Every
year 1.35 billion m3 rainwater were stored, providing potable water for
nearly 24 million people and 17 million livestock. At the same time more
than 1.5 million ha farmland has been brought under irrigation. The benefit
is remarkable.
This evaluation will be carried out looking at the rainwater harvesting
facilities and their influence on solving the shortage of drinking water
in the countryside. We also want to point out the success of the project:
promoting the local economy and social development, as well as taking
a look at the existing problems, thus providing an objective and scientific
basis for a demand analysis and a plan for future projects.
PDF of full document available
to members (3pp, 22kb)
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