Case Study on Reducing Potable Water in Residential Buildings by Implementing Rainwater Storage Systems.

Given that water is an indispensable and valuable resource, the water shortage faced by some areas of the globe has recently attracted the attention of the European Environment Agency (EEA). For this reason, the paper deals with aspects regarding the possibility of using water from precipitation, taking into account, for the study, buildings from two rural localities adjacent to Timișoara (Giarmata and Moșnița Nouă). An analysis was carried out regarding the amount of drinking water that can be replaced in indoor sanitary installations with captured and stored water from precipitation. The amount of potable water that can be replaced was considered only for household needs such as: flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering green spaces and gardens and washing impervious spaces (lanes, yards, etc.) on the property. The study considered 5 stages of approach through which the quantity and quality of rainwater that can be collected, the technical solutions that can be implemented and the reduction of the amount of drinking water were evaluated, taking into account two consumption scenarios (reduced and increased). Based on the data obtained, it was concluded that for a low level of consumption, in the two buildings, the amount of water collected from precipitation fully covers the consumption of the household needs taken into account, and for the scenario of increased consumption, only 2 and 3 weeks of consumption remain uncorrelated which are the equivalent of a normal vacation period in which no consumption is recorded. In conclusion, the installation of rainwater storage systems is reliable for residential buildings, especially in rural localities where properties benefit from larger land areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]