Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Acceptance in Three Localities of Guanajuato, Central Mexico
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ROOFTOP RAINWATER HARVESTING ACCEPTANCE IN THREE LOCALITIES OF GUANAJUATO, CENTRAL MEXICO María Lina Fuentes-Galván, Xitlali Delgado-Galván, Hilario Charcas-Salazar, Jesús Mora-Rodríguez, José Luis Flores Flores and Antonio Cardona Benavides SUMMARY Rainwater harvesting (RWH) provides various social, en- to use RWH in three localities (Guanajuato, Romita, and Si- vironmental, and economic benefits. It is important to first lao) of the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, evaluated through consider individual preferences and willingness to use har- the acceptance of using the collected rainwater found in vested water for different purposes in order to encourage the results of 504 questionnaires directly applied to owners a community to use RWH and establish strategies that al- and dwelling users in urban areas of the localities studied. low for the introduction of an alternative water supply, and Other aspects related with RWH were included in the study, additionally foster water management through sustainable such as some characteristics of the population and their practices. This paper presents the willingness of individuals dwellings. Introduction Rainwater harvesting (RWH) According to previous Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is an important means of opti- studies on barriers and ac- The increasing demand for mizing water resource use that ceptance towards using them, RWH is a technology used water and subsequent strain on simultaneously promotes sus- attitudes towards alternative for collecting and storing resources has propitiated the tainable development (Ghisi water sources depend largely rainwater from rooftops, land, search for alternative sources, et al., 2009) and is strategical- on the particular characteris- roads, and rock surfaces such as gray water, desalina- ly implemented in different tics of the communities (Abdulla and Al-Shareef, tion and rainwater. Yet, in or- regions to solve and reduce the where they are intended to 2009; Helmreich and Horn, der to implement a new water strain on water resources. be introduced (Ward et al., 2009). The components of supply scheme, it is very im- However, regardless of how 2008, 2012; Domènech and rainwater harvesting systems portant to consult public opin- RWH is implemented, it re- Saurí, 2010; Parsons, et al., (RWHS) depend on the final ion first. Public opinion will quires the acceptance and 2010; White, 2010; Barthwal use of water. However, all dictate the feasibility of intro- willingness of individuals to et al., 2013). Limited infor- harvesting processes imply a ducing an alternative water use the water collected mation about current atti- surface catchment, a delivery supply and the best way of (Barthwal et al., 2013). RWH tudes and perceptions to- system, and a storage tank implementing it. Therefore, the has the potential to provide a wards RWH exists in independent of the final use perception and acceptance of considerable volume of water Mexico. In the State of of the water (Abdulla and Al- the population towards alterna- to contribute to the water sup- Guanajuato, there is no avail- Shareef, 2006). RWH pro- tive water sources has been ply in a given area, while at able information concerning vides different benefits, for studied in recent decades and the same time generating sav- this topic. This study is fo- instance, the collection and related to aspects of individu- ings and reducing extraction cused on roof RWH, an un- storage in situ has no cost als such as age, education, from current supply sources. der-exploited resource in the related to distribution systems socioeconomic factors, and Hence, in order to promote location studied. RWH, can from centralized water sourc- local policies, among others. RWH as a water management provide an important contri- es and can be used for differ- These characteristics provide strategy in the localities of bution to complement the ent purposes, taking into ac- information to generate the interest, it is necessary to current water supply, and count the quantity and quality necessary tools that allow know the level of RWH accep- could mitigate problems of the harvested water. communities to adapt to new tance and willingness to use caused by intermittent service Nowadays, rainwater is used water supply sources. the water collected. and water scarcity in the area. at different levels around the KEYWORDS / Rainwater Acceptance / Rainwater Harvesting / Rainwater Uses / Received: 03/19/2015. Modified: 05/12/2015. Accepted: 14/05/2015. María Lina Fuentes-Galván. Universidad Politécnica de Nuevo León, Mexico. Pro- Antonio Cardona Benavides. Master in Water Sciences, Valencia (UPV), Spain. Profe- fessor, UASLP, Mexico. Doctor in Earth Sciences, Universidad de Guanajuato ssor, UGto, México. Dirección: Jesús Mora-Rodríguez. Doctor in Universidad Nacional Autónoma (UGto), Mexico. Doctoral can- Departamento de Geomática e Hydraulics and Environment, de México. Professor, UASLP, didate in Environmental Hidráulica, UGTO. Av. Juárez UPV, Spain. Professor, UGto, Mexico. Sciences, Universidad Autó- 77 Centro, Guanajuato, México. México. noma de San Luis Potosí e-mail: [email protected] José Luis Flores Flores. Doctor (UASLP), Mexico. Hilario Charcas-Salazar. Doctor of Sciences, Colegio de Xitlali Delgado-Galván. Doctor in Agricultural Science, Postgraduados. Mexico. Pro- in Hydraulics and Environment, Universidad Autónoma de fessor, UASLP, México. JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6 0378-1844/14/07/468-08 $ 3.00/0 403 ACEPTACIÓN DE LA CAPTACIÓN DEL AGUA DE LLUVIA EN TECHOS, EN TRES LOCALIDADES DE GUANAJUATO, MÉXICO María Lina Fuentes-Galván, Xitlali Delgado-Galván, Hilario Charcas-Salazar, Jesús Mora-Rodríguez, José Luis Flores Flores y Antonio Cardona Benavides RESUMEN La captación de agua de lluvia (ALL) proporciona diferentes posición de la población hacia el uso del ALL en tres localidades beneficios sociales, ambientales y económicos. Sin embargo, para (Guanajuato, Romita y Silao) del estado de Guanajuato, México, promover el uso del ALL es importante considerar la disposición evaluada a través de la aplicación directa de 504 cuestionarios a de la población a utilizarla y para qué propósitos, con el obje- propietarios y usuarios de las viviendas en las zonas urbanas de to de establecer estrategias que permitan la introducción de esa las localidades de estudio. Se incluyen otros aspectos relaciona- fuente alternativa de agua y fomentar el manejo del recurso a dos con la captación del ALL, tales como algunas características través de prácticas sostenibles. En este trabajo se presenta la dis- de la población y las construcciones. ACEITAÇÃO DA CAPTAÇÃO DA ÁGUA DA CHUVA PELOS TELHADOS EM TRÊS CIDADES NO ESTADO DE GUANAJUATO, MÉXICO María Lina Fuentes-Galván, Xitlali Delgado-Galván, Hilario Charcas-Salazar, Jesús Mora-Rodríguez, José Luis Flores Flores e Antonio Cardona Benavides RESUMO A captação de água da chuva (AC) fornece benefícios so- ma sustentável. Este artigo apresenta a vontade da popula- ciais, ambientais e econômicos. No entanto, para promover ção para usar a AC em três cidades (Guanajuato, Romita o uso da AC é importante considerar a vontade da popula- e Silao) no estado de Guanajuato, México. A aceitação foi ção para sua utilização e para que propósitos, em ordem de avaliada através da aplicação direta de 504 questionários estabelecer estratégias que permitam a introdução de uma a proprietários e usuários das casas em áreas urbanas das nova fonte da água e promover a gestão da água de for- localidades estudadas. world to supply domestic or receiving support from social establishing strategies that three localities; here, the use non-potable uses, promote programs, but private initia- contribute to sustainable water of rainwater is not document- water savings, efficient strate- tives are also present. management and provide al- ed. Silao is one of the most gies for water management, ternatives to supply the needs industrialized cities in the and environmental conserva- Study Area of the population, according state and is experiencing an tion (Herrmann and Schimda, to individual characteristics. important increase in its pop- 1999; Ghisi, 2006; Chiu et al., The State of Guanajuato is This study is focused on ulation; as in the case of 2009; Parsons et al., 2010; located in central Mexico; it the urban areas of Gua- Romita, the use of RWH is Mankad and Tapsuwan, 2011). is comprised of 46 municipal- najuato, Silao and Romita. not documented. In Mexico, RWH was a ities. Groundwater is the prin- Guanajuato is a historical common practice and was cipal water supply source in mining city; the northernmost Materials and Methods used throughout different an- the state and as a conse- region of the city is located in cient civilizations. The runoff quence the majority of aqui- a transition zone between two The study was conducted from roofs and courtyards was fers in the area are overex- physiographical provinces using a questionnaire directly delivered through storage ploited, as is the case of the (Cerca-Martínez et al., 2000) applied to the owners or users structures inside and outside Silao-Romita aquifer in the causing variable weather of dwellings in the urban areas dwellings, using different ma- center of the state. In this which may include extreme of the localities of interest in terials in the process; the final zone, the extraction of under- events. There are records of the months of April and May uses were domestic supply and ground water has caused seri- floods since 1629 and 2013. A total of 504 question- irrigation (CONAGUA, 2009).