By : Sezee Binti Gorotop Abtract
Water resources are important to both society and ecosystems. However this valuable resources which is the most human demand for survival, are being polluted every day and consumed by humans at extremely high rates. To meet the demand of water consumption for certain usage, rainwater is one of the solution. Rainwater is a natural feature of the earth's weather system.
In this study, investigation will be conducted to determine the feasibility of rainwater harvesting system in Politeknik Kuching Sarawak. The main purpose for conducting this feasibility study is to obtain a better understanding of environmental solutions to everyday problems. For instance, determining the feasibility of implementing a rainwater collection system at PKS is an environmental alternative solution for reducing PKS's municipal water consumption.
After determining the suitable location and size of the study area, the cost analysis was completed and the overall cost of the study was compared to the current municipal water costs. The analysis determined that a Rainwater Harvesting System is feasible for the study area.
Introduction
Rainwater harvesting is not a new technology. This method is an ancient practice of conserving water for agricultural and human consumption purposes. The harvesting of rainwater simply involves the collection of water from surfaces on which rain falls, and subsequently storing this water for later use. Normally water is collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks. This is very common in Asia, specifically Malaysia.
In urban areas, rainwater harvested is used for non-potable activities only such as toilet flushing, laundry cleaning, gardening and landscape irrigation, car washing and fire-fighting drills. Usually, rainwater catchment surfaces tend to be restricted to roofs (Hassell, 2005; Fewkes, 2006) although runoff can also be collected from other impermeable areas such as pavements, roads and car parks. Runoff from these areas can be more polluted than that from roof surfaces and may require a higher degree of treatment to achieve an acceptable level of water quality (Leggett et al, 2001b; Martin, 2001). Water storage and distribution elements generally consist of standardized pre-manufactured components that can range from a simple water storage with a tap at the base to more complicated systems that can consist of underground storage tanks, filters, UV units, pumps and automated controls.
Politeknik Kuching Sarawak is located about 23 kilometers from Kuching city center and is located in the valley of Mount Serapi, adjacent to Kubah National Park. This institution is surrounded by rainforest which considered less air pollution and makes Politeknik Kuching Sarawak a suitable site for harvesting rainwater. According to WorldClimate website, Matang division receives high levels of precipitation (around 4,056 mm/year), which is potentially attractive for planning rainwater harvesting strategies. Kuching is the wettest populated area in Malaysia with an average of 247 rainy days per year (Malaysian Meteorological Department).
Most of us nowadays, wasted a lot of clean tap water in the garden, washing cars or flushing the toilets. Instead of wasting expensive treated water, storing and using rainwater harvested for these purposes would be a good practice. In 1999, "Guidelines for installing a rainwater collection and utilization System" has been introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and it is the bench mark of rainwater harvesting in Malaysia. The aims of this policy are to reduce the dependence of treated water and provide convenient alternative in times of emergency or shortfall in the water system.
Currently Politeknik Kuching Sarawak is dependent upon the municipal water utility, Kuching Water Board (KWB), to provide the campus with potable water. However, every year Politeknik Kuching Sarawak still experience at least twice a year of water shortage which sometimes last until a month. It would be a good practice if we could reduce the dependence on municipal water utility by constructing a rainwater harvesting system that will be used for flushing toilets and gardening purposes. For these purposes, harvested rain water not necessarily needs treatment system, only filtering system will be enough to treat the rainwater. Application of rainwater harvesting system in this campus not only promoting best practice in environmental management but also will provide the campus with supplementary and economically water supply. This paper was therefore designed to determine the potential of rooftop water harvesting in Politeknik Kuching Sarawak
Admin @Friday, December 05, 2014
Tagged @ example of a research paper
Tagged @ Innovation
Tagged @ Rainwater Harvesting
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