ROOFTOP RAINWATER HARVESTING ACCEPTANCE IN THREE LOCALITIES OF , CENTRAL

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 ) 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). ous social, economic, and en- droughts between 1710 and naires were applied: 267 in During the colonial period, vironmental impacts, such as 1730 (Valles Septien et al., Guanajuato, 146 in Romita and with the arrival of religious the increasing cost of water 1983; Miranda-Avilés et al., 91 in Silao. The questionnaire orders, the design of convents extraction, high water salinity, 2009). Thus, the population in is comprised of six sections and monasteries included rain- and subsidence in some areas this region has faced the kind designed to establish percep- water collection and storage. (Foster and Garduño, 2009). of events that determine the tions about public water supply Hence, in colonial cities of Recent demographic growth hydraulic infrastructure of the and RWH, and some aspects of Mexico, such as Guanajuato, it and agricultural and industrial city and may be why RWH the characteristics of dwellings. is common to find structures development have resulted in became a common supply Most of the questionnaire con- for harvesting rainwater in old increased pressure on the lim- practice. Romita, the south- sists of yes or no questions. buildings, cisterns for domestic ited water resources to satisfy ernmost locality, is predomi- Table I summarizes the ques- supply and water boxes for ir- increasing demands. Thus, nantly agricultural and faces tions included in sections 2 to rigation. Currently, this re- with decreasing water avail- regional pressure on water 5 of the questionnaire. source is used in some ability, it is highly relevant resources despite having the The first section of the ques- Mexican states, generally to generate the basis for smaller population of the tionnaire is focused on the

404 JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6 identifying data of the dwelling, RWH to the respondents. and was also designed to ob- followed by domestic cleaning such as location, gender of the While describing the compo- tain data on the physical char- (98.8%). The watering of gar- respondent, characteristics of the nents of the system, the costs acteristics of the houses in or- dens and plants is also an house including size, construc- and requirements needed to der to estimate the RWHP in important use of water tion material, and whether the install a RWHS are indicated, the roofs of the study area for (66.2%); this usage was found resident is the homeowner or a and thus determine the will- future research. The majority to be reported more often by tenant. The second section con- ingness to invest in a RWHS of respondents (62%) were women (289) than men (195). siders water use from the cen- and maintain it in good condi- women. Only 70.8% of the Conversely, for car washing, tralized supply; the objective of tion. An open question on who respondents answered the which has the lowest rate of this part of the questionnaire is should provide financial sup- question concerning ownership water use, men answered pos- to recognize priorities in the use port for the implementation of or tenancy of dwellings; of itively (44.4%) more often of water and possible endow- a RWHS was also included. those, 85.7% were homeown- than women. ments. The next section of ques- The last section asks about ers, and 14.3% were tenants. tions assesses the perspective of water demand and payment for Guanajuato had the highest Centralized water quality the respondent towards the qual- the supply service, providing percentage of leased residences ity of water received from the information about the savings (16.9%), but it should be con- Taking into account the reli- current supply, if the respon- that may be obtained with sidered that this city has a ability of opinion on the qual- dents drink the piped water and rainwater. In this section the large student community and ity of water received from the whether or not they detect some persons per household are in- is also a tourist location due to centralized system, two ques- odor or distinct color. The quan- quired, as well as the capacity being a colonial mining town tions were asked: whether or tity of potable water used was and type of the current storage and the state capital. not the household drinks tap also established. tank. With the data obtained Regarding the physical charac- water directly, and whether or The potential usage of rain- from the first and last sec- teristics of the roofs, the hous- not they have perceived some water was explored in the tions, it is possible to estimate, es studied in Silao had the odor or color in the tap water. fourth section of the question- for every locality, the rainwa- largest mean area (131.1m2) A high percentage of the re- naire to define the acceptance ter harvesting potential followed by Romita (106.6m2); spondents (78.9%) does not of the respondents to this re- (RWHP), a concept to be ex- Guanajuato had the smallest drink tap water and a higher source for specific items, such plained below. mean area (89m2), which can percentage of female respon- as domestic and personal be attributed to the topography dents answered negatively as cleaning, watering plants and Results of the city that generates an compared to male respondents. washing the car, among others. irregular spatial distribution. Almost the entire Guanajuato Taking into account the impli- Identifying data With respect to rooftop mate- respondents (90.9%) answered cations and needs concerning rials, concrete is the most negatively to the question re- a RWHS, the fifth section of This section of the question- commonly used (88.2%), other garding drinking tap water, the questionnaire starts with a naire provides information materials were used but not in which this can be an import- brief description of the RWHS about the gender and dwell- a representative quantity. All ant incentive when considering and introduces the concept of ings’ location of the sample, of the rooftops in Silao were new supply alternatives. concrete. Combinations of roof Regarding the second question TABLE I materials were reported in of this section 53.4% of the COMPONENTS OF SECTIONS 2 TO 5 Guanajuato and Romita, main- study sample identified some OF THE APPLIED QUESTIONNAIRE ly concrete with clay or metal- odor or color in the tap water lic tiles; however, these roof but most men did not find Water uses characteristics were presented odor or color in the water. The Do you use the water for…? in a small percentage of dwell- respondents of the city of Personal hygiene Domestic cleaning ings (1.1% Guanajuato and Guanajuato, regardless of gen- Car washing 9.9% Romita). der, exceed the 50% mark for Watering gardens and plants identifying odor or color in Centralized water quality Water use from centralized water, while in Romita and Do you drink tap water? supply Silao less than 40% answered Have you identified some odor or color in piped water? yes to this question. How many bottle water do you buy per month? The main source for the Mexico is a country with a Rainwater use water supply in the study re- high consumption of bottled Would you use rainwater for….? gion is the aquifer, with a water, and considering the low Personal hygiene complementary volume of sur- utilization of tap water as Domestic cleaning face water. In particular, drinking water, the last ques- Car washing Guanajuato is supplied using tion of this section is useful to Watering gardens and plant Supplying animals and pets surface water and in the establish the quantity of bot- Drinking water southern part of the city with tled water acquired per month Drinking water if is treated before groundwater, while Silao and and the economic spending RWHS Romita take all of their water thus derived. Silao is the place Would you install a RWHS in your house? supply from the aquifer. with the highest quantity of Would you maintain it in good conditions? According to questionnaire bottled water purchased (164.1 Would you provide economic resources for a RWHS? respondents, the centralized liters; USD14.10), followed by Who should provide the economic resources for the installation? water supply is used by al- Romita (135.7 liters; USD11.70) What for do you utilize the roof of your house? most the entire study sample and Guanajuato (122.9 liters; Is the roof of your house in good conditions? for personal hygiene (99.4%), USD 10.60). Thus, in

JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6 405 Guanajuato the respondents drinking water positive an- positively to provide the finan- housing pets, flowerpots, or identified odor and colors in swers were given by only cial resources to install a storage; of the 119 houses water, yet they buy fewer bot- 15.4% of respondents. RWHS. Nevertheless, in the where the roofs are used for a tles of water than in Romita Nevertheless, in the next ques- open question about who specific activity, 95 were for and Silao, where the sample tion: Would you use treated should participate in the invest- laundry and related activities. found fewer negative aspects rainwater as drinking water? ment for RWHS in local dwell- According to results, those in tap water. (with four possible answers: ings, 41% answered that the current rooftop activities Yes, Maybe, If I don’t have government should contribute, would not prevent RWHS Willingness to use rainwater any other option, No) the af- without specifying the level of installation. firmative answers increased government. It is noteworthy Hartley (2006) and Marks and reached 53.4%. that in the localities of interest, Water storage (2006) indicated that the level the municipality has the task of of acceptance for reused water Rainwater harvesting water supply, but only 7% of The use of plastic barrels is related to the degree of hu- system (RWHS) respondents chose it in their for water storage is a common man contact. Ward et al. (2008) answers, which may denote a practice in homes in the stud- found that the perceived risk of The willingness to take ad- lack of information about this ied locations. In order to find use rainwater increases as the vantage of rainwater through topic. A mixed participation the storage capacity of dwell- type of use becomes increas- a RWHS is reviewed in this between the owners and gov- ings, questions about the kind ingly personal. For less contact section, where 92.8% of re- ernment obtained the second of reservoirs used and the vol- there is a higher acceptance spondents show a high dispo- higher percentage with 25.9%. ume that may be stored were and for the present case study sition to implement a RWHS; Figure 2 shows the percentage asked. Results show that 410 the behavior is the same. women being more prone to of the actors that, according to houses (81.3%) employed plas- Rainwater is the less accepted install a system (95.2%) than the respondents, should partici- tic tanks, the use of cisterns for drinking and personal hy- men (89%). In order to bene- pate in the investment in a was lower (only 17.7% of total giene. Figure 1 shows the per- fit from this resource in an RWHS for their houses. dwellings had this kind of res- centage of the respondents will- effective way, it is necessary In the region, individuals ervoir), and only 7.7% had ing to use rainwater for differ- to maintain the surface where commonly use the roof space another type of deposit with ent activities. the water will run off in good for laundry activities. These lower volume, such as barrels The first question of this condition, and to administer activities were taken into con- and buckets. The use of more section was: Would you use regular maintenance to the sideration when calculating the than one type of reservoir is rainwater? In response, 91.5% system; thus, the majority of availability of the potential higher in Guanajuato, as well of the sample responded affir- the sample (97%) would ac- roof catchment surface, and its as is the higher volume of matively. The following ques- cept the need to undertake conditions. Hence, it was storage; this may prevent the tions are directed, however, to activities to maintain the asked whether or not they use effects of the intermittent sup- a specific use and the accep- RWHS in good condition. their roofs, and if so, what ply service in the area. The tance to use rainwater was Regarding financial support they use it for. In a small per- combination of plastic tanks lower. When asked about the to take advantage of rainwater, centage of dwellings the roof with cisterns is present in the consumption of rainwater as 72.5% of respondents answered is used, only 3.1% of respon- three localities, and in dents use their roofs for Guanajuato the use of plastic 100 60

80 50

60 40 age (%) 30 cen t

e r 40 P

Percentage (%) Percentage 20

20 10

0 0 Guanajuato Romita Silao Guanajuato Romita Silao Locations Locations Owner with support of Goverment Goverment Would you use rainwater? Watering gardens and plants State Goverment Federal Goverment Personal hygiene Animals and pets Municipal Council and Goverment Owner Domestic cleaning Car washing Drinking water Figure 2. Actors that according to the respondents should participate in Figure 1. Percentage of respondents willing to utilize rainwater per use. the investment of RWHS.

406 JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6 tanks together with barrels and Rainwater harvesting precipitation (mm), A: harvest- TABLE III buckets was also reported. potential (RWHP) ing area (m2). RC is non-di- POTENTIAL OF The diversity of storage vol- mensional and 1000 is the fac- RAINWATER USE IN umes is high, but in accor- The RWHP is the quantity tor used to convert P from mm THREE CITIES OF dance with the construction of rainwater that can be col- to m. GUANAJUATO STATE practices in the region, the lected on a surface and, ac- Taking into account the P V C plastic tanks mostly used have quantity of water used by the Locality cording to Farreny et al. (mm) (m3) % capacities of 450, 750, and (2011), it can be estimated population, it is possible to 1100 liters. The most common based on the local precipita- appraise the percentage of Guanajuato 732.8 52.18 36.2 Romita 669 57.05 47.5 ones in Silao and Romita were tions, the roof area and the demand that rainwater could Silao 618.2 64.84 33.8 the 750 liter tanks, whereas in runoff coefficient. For the lo- meet. Table III shows the ac- were of 1100 cations of study the RWHP cumulated average monthly liters. Regarding the volume of was estimated taking into ac- precipitation (P) for each lo- The willingness to use rain- cisterns the most common ca- count the material and average cality; the volume (V) of rain- water for domestic cleaning, pacity was 10,000 liters. These roof area present in the results water estimated according to car washing, and watering gar- results make clear the impor- of the applied questionnaires the results of the question- dens and plants makes these tance of storing water for the and the normal monthly pre- naires applied; and the cover- activities ideal for the direct community because out of 504 cipitation from the locality age (C) is the percentage of use of rainwater for the dwell- visited dwellings 479 had at stations obtained from the the demands that could be ings in the areas of study, giv- least one type of reservoir. CONAGUA (2015) database. met by rainwater. The average en the more negative attitude The number of persons per The roof material influences annual V per person in the of the respondents towards the household and payment for the collection efficiency and the study area is 12.8m3. use of rainwater for personal supply service were asked in losses for a given material are hygiene and as a drinking wa- the final two questions. The considered in a non-dimension- Discussion ter resource. These facts can average household size per lo- al runoff coefficient (RC). For orient the strategies to foster cality are: 4.1 in Guanajuato, roofs, RC is within the range According to the results of rainwater use and the design 4.9 in Romita and 4.6 in Silao. of 0.7-0.9 (Farreny et al., 2011). the first section of the question- of systems that can cover the The last question asks about The RC is used to estimate the naire, the majority of respon- needs of the population ac- the water demand and the pay- RWHP at 0.8, based on a con- dents were homeowners; this cording their characteristics. ment for the supply service, but crete roof, in accordance with allows for the possible manage- Considering the results of the only 5.6% of respondents knew the results of the questionnaires ment of a RWHS. The uses of third section, it may be stated the quantity of water that they applied that shows that more the centralized water supply at that the respondents identify a used. However, 91.5% of them than 80% of the roofs em- the domestic level are mainly risk in the use of piped water knew their monthly payment to ployed concrete in the three for personal hygiene and domes- as drinking water, as 93.7% of the centralized supply organiza- areas. In addition, according to tic cleaning, followed by water- them buy bottled drinking wa- tion. More men knew this the information in the popula- ing gardens and plants. ter. Regarding these respon- quantity than women and the tion census (INEGI, 2000), Considering rainwater instead of dents that buy bottled water, same occurred with the small more than 70% of the total piped water, the respondents Guanajuato has the higher per- percentage of the sample that rooftops in the localities of in- would use rainwater less for centage (97.4%) followed by knew the cubic meters con- terest are made of concrete. personal hygiene, and almost Silao and Romita, but by vol- sumed. A relationship between The area (A) is a relevant fac- the same percentage would use ume Silao and Romita buy a payment and consumption tor that influences the volume rainwater or piped water for greater quantity of water. could be established taking into of rainwater that can be collect- domestic cleaning, car washing, It was found that the people account the service establish- ed and the abovementioned and watering gardens and in Guanajuato, Romita and ments of each locality. roof average surfaces for the plants. The number of respon- Silao, present a high willing- Regarding the amount paid for three locations were considered. dents that are willing to use ness to use rainwater by in- the supply services, the higher The volume of rainwater that is rainwater is higher, which may stalling systems in their house- costs are presented in Silao, possible to harvest in each city be because these uses involve holds, and they also indicated a followed by Guanajuato. The is estimated using V= (P x RC less human contact and because, willingness to undertake main- smaller community, Romita, x A)/1000 (Ghisi, 2006; currently, these uses represent tenance activities. Nevertheless, pays less, where the base fee Abdulla and Al-Shareef, 2009), unnecessary spending and if financial support for a RWHS included 10m3, a situation that where V: annual volume of they use rainwater for them the installation is a point of discus- does not occur in the other harvestable rainwater (m3), P: cost will not be reflected in the sion. The roles of the water communities, where the base accumulated average monthly payment for the supply service. management institutions and fee does not include a given councils are not clear, which volume. Table II shows the was evident in the fourth sec- consumption and payment for TABLE II tion, where it was asked who the supply service and the cal- CALCULATION OF DAILY WATER per capita should provide the support to culated water consumption per CONSUMPTION BASED ON PAYMENT adapt a RWHS. Hence, infor- person per day, according the TO CENTRALIZED WATER DISTRIBUTOR mation is a relevant factor to results of the questionnaires. establish for the community the Volume Consumption All this data can provide infor- Payment actors in water management at Locality (USD/month) mation about the savings that (m³/month) (liter/person/day) different levels and the activi- can be obtained using rainwater Guanajuato 15.1 12 97.56 ties and responsibilities that and about the water demands Romita 10.1 10 68.03 correspond to each one. Silao 24.6 16 115.94 of the communities. Another important factor is the

JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6 407 need for financial support from with less human contact such Mexico: A documented example Helmreich B, Horn H (2009) the government to encourage as domestic cleaning, watering of the transition from the Sierra Opportunities in rainwater the installation of a RWHS. gardens, and car washing, are Madre Occidental to the harvesting. Desalination Mexican Volcanic Belt. Int. 248: 118-124. RWH could propitiate sav- the most likely uses of rainwa- Geol. Rev. 42: 131-151. ings of almost 50% of the an- ter in the locations of interest Herrmann T, Schmida U (1999) Chiu YR, Liaw ChH, Hu ChY, Rainwater utilisation in nual water consumption, at according to the level of ac- Tsai YL, Chang HH (2009) Germany: efficiency, dimensio- least 33% considering the ceptance of respondents. Applying GIS-based rainwater ning, hydraulic and environ- characteristics of the locations. The overview of the current harvesting design system in mental aspects. Urban Water This information can be useful water perception in the study the water-energy conservation 1: 307-316. th to promote the use of the locations is useful to encour- scheme for large cities. In 13 INEGI (2000) Censo General de RWH and encourage the pop- age the use of rainwater as an Int. Conf. Comp uter Población y Vivienda 2000. ulation and the water authori- alternative water supply and Supported Cooperative Work Instituto Nacional de Estadística in Design. pp. 722-727. ties to take advantage of this obtain the basis to generate y Geografía.Mexico. www.inegi. org.mx/est/contenidos/Proyectos/ resource to complement the water management strategies CONAGUA (2009) Semblanza Histórica del Agua en México. ccpv/cpv2000/ default.aspx water endowment and lower according the particular char- Comisión Nacional del Agua. Mankad A, Tapsuwan S (2011) the pressure over the ground- acteristics of each place. Secretaría de Medio Ambiente Review of socio-economic dri- water in the area and propiti- y Recursos Naturales. México. vers of community acceptance ate the recovery of this source. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 82 pp. and adoption of decentralised CONAGUA (2015) Normales water systems. J. Environ. Conclusions This study was funded by Climatológicas por Estación. Manag. 92: 380-391. the Faculty Improvement Comisión Nacional del Agua. Marks JS (2006) Taking the public A strong determinant factor Program of the Secretary of Secretaría de Medio Ambiente seriously: the case of potable for RWH use is its cost, and Public Education of Mexico y Recursos Naturales. México. and non potable reuse. http://smn.cna.gob.mx/index. Desalination 187: 137-147. specifically the investment (project “Development of strat- php?option=com_content&vie needed to install and operate egies for the use of rainwater Miranda-Avilés R, Puy-Alquiza MJ, w=article&id=42&Itemid=75 Caudillo-González M (2009) the systems. Thus, financial as an alternative of supply in (Cons. 10/02/2015). Evidencias estratigráficas y support from governmental the area of the aquifer Silao- Domènech L, Saurí D (2010) Socio- geoquímicas de la variación institutions turns out to be one Romita, State of Guanajuato”). technical transitions in water temporal de sedimentos natura- of the main factors to encour- The authors thank the Research scarcity contexts: Public accep- les y antropogénicos en la age respondents to implement Support and Postgraduate tance of greywater reuse tech- planicie aluvial del río a RWHS but, at the same Direction of the University of nologies in the Metropolitan Guanajuato. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Area of Barcelona. Resour. Geol. 26: 564-574. time, where this support Guanajuato for the English Conserv. Recyc. 55: 56-62. should come from was not revision. Parsons D, Goodhew S, Fewkes A, Farreny R, Morales-Pinzón T, De Wilde P (2010) The percei- identified. The information Guisasola A, Tayà C, ved barriers to the inclusion of relating to local water manage- REFERENCES Rieradevall J, Gabarrell X rainwater harvesting systems by ment is an important point to (2011) Roof selection for rain- UK house building companies. foster sustainable practices of Abdulla FA, Al-Shareef A (2006) water harvesting: Quantity and Urban Water J. 7: 257-265. use and management of this Assessment of rainwater roof quality assessments in Spain. Valles Septien JM, Torres Martinez resource. Making available harvesting systems for house- Water Res. 45: 3245-3254. G, Ojeda Flon LM (1983, Eds.) information about the manage- hold water supply in Jordan. Foster S, Garduño H (2009) Gestión El Agua en la Ciudad de ment of water to different lev- In Integrated Urban Resources apropiada el recurso hídrico Guanajuato, Problema de Siglos. Management. Nato Security els of community is an im- subterráneo en América Latina. Secretaría de Programación. through Science Series. Sprin- Lecciones de experiencias inter- Gobierno del Estado de portant factor to advance in ger. Dordrecht, Netherlands. nacionales. Aqua-LAC 1: 5-17. Guanajuato. Mexico 84 pp. this topic. pp. 291-300. Ghisi E, Tavares DF, Rocha VL Ward S, Butler D, Memon F (2008) A According to the results ob- Abdulla FA, Al-Shareef A (2009) (2009) Rainwater harvesting in pilot study into attitudes towards tained from the questionnaires Roof rainwater harvesting sys- petrol stations in Brasília: and perceptions of rainwater har- applied, rainwater is a source tems for household water Potential for potable water sa- vesting in the UK. BHS 10th Nat. that the population in supply in Jordan. Desalination vings and investment feasibility Hydrology Symposium. Exeter, Guanajuato, Romita, and Silao 243: 195-207. analysis. Resour. Conserv. UK. 7 pp. are willing to use (91.5%) and Barthwal S, Chandola-Barthwal S, Recyc. 54: 79-85. Ward S, Barr S, Memon F, Butler D the respondents show a high Goyal H, Nirmani B, Awasthi Ghisi E (2006) Potential for pota- (2012) Rainwater harvesting in willingness to install and B (2013) Socio-economic ac- ble water savings by using the UK: exploring water-user ceptance of rooftop rainwater rainwater in the residential perceptions. Urban Water J. maintain a RWHS. Dwellings harvesting -A case study. sector of Brazil. Build. 10: 112-126. have the necessary characteris- Urban Water J. 11: 231-239. Environ. 41: 1544-1550. White I (2010) Rainwater harves- tics for RWH and common Cerca-Martínez LM, Aguirre-Díaz Hartley TW (2006) Public percep- ting: theorising and modelling activities conducted on roof- GJ, López-Martínez M (2000) tion and participation in issues that influence household tops, and rooftop materials are The geologic evolution of the water reuse. Desalination adoption. Water Sci. Technol. not an impediment. Water uses Southern Sierra de Guanajuato, 187: 115-126. 62: 370-377.

408 JUNE 2015, VOL. 40 Nº 6