Long-Term Trends in 20-Day Cumulative Precipitation for Residential Rainwater Harvesting in Poland

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) for domestic uses is widely regarded as an economic and ecological solution in water conservation and storm management programs. This paper aims at evaluating long-term trends in 20-day cumulative rainfall periods per year in Poland, for assessing its impact on the design and operation conditions for RWH systems and resource availability. The time-series employed corresponds to a set of 50-year long time-series of rainfall (from 1970 to 2019) recorded at 19 synoptic meteorological stations scattered across Poland, one of the European countries with the lowest water availability index. The methods employed for assessing trends were the Mann–Kendall test (M–K) and the Sen’s slope estimator. Most of the datasets exhibit stationary behaviour during the 50-year long period, however, statistically significant downward trends were detected for precipitations in Wrocław and Opole. The findings of this study are valuable assets for integrated water management and sustainable planning in Poland.