CP-1997-02
Rainwater catchment systems: Development and guidelines.
Fok, Yu-Si
Rainwater catchment systems (RWCS) have been in use for centuries. However, since most have been developed by users with private funds, few public sector decision-makers acknowledge the contribution RWCS have for water conservation and for water supply by including RWCS construction guidelines in their building code. Due to the great progress in the environmental protection movement and because public water supply systems have shown their inability to satisfy the ever-increasing demands for piped water, the need for RWCS development guidelines that take these factors into consideration becomes evident. This paper aims to document existing RWCS guidelines; to report the current progress of RWCS guideline development in Hawaii; to present problems related to RWCS guideline development, especially those problems related to the affordability of the RWCS development in Hawaii; and finally to suggest ways for establishing universal RWCS development guidelines. Using the guidelines developed for Hawaii as an illustration, this paper points out the importance of conducting a cost analysis on items included in RWCS guidelines. To ensure that they are complied with socially and economically, guidelines must be user-friendly and affordable.