Investigation of the Current Situation and Prospects for the Development of Rainwater Harvesting as a Tool to Confront Water Scarcity Worldwide

Abstract

Nowadays, available water resources face severe pressures due to demographic, economic, social causes, environmental degradation, climate change, and technological changes on a global scale. It is well known that rainwater harvesting, a simple and old method, has the potential to supplement surface and groundwater resources in areas that have inadequate water supply. In recent decades, many countries have supported the updated implementation of such a practice to confront the water demand increase and to reduce the frequency, peak, and volume of urban runoff. These considerations motivate interest in examining the current situation and the prospect of further development of this method worldwide. The present paper aims at the investigation of the current situation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) as an alternative water source to confront water scarcity in various countries around the world. In particular, the paper presents the following: (a) the causes of water shortage; (b) a concise historical overview of the temporal development of the RWH method; (c) the evolution of the concept of RWH; (d) the efforts to renew interest in RWH; and (e) incentives and perspectives for the spreading of the RWH method in various countries worldwide.