Rainwater Harvesting: What would you choose?

If you were told you could give a rural family, in Africa, a tank for Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) and it could be any size for the same price, most people would go for the largest tank. But there are many dangers in going with this decision!

 Figure 1- A larger tank is not always a better tank

 

Figure 1 shows that the benefits of a tank do not uniformly increase with size. This is because a smaller tank will be filled and emptied (cycled) but larger tanks are cycled less rugularly. Therefore, a smaller tank can save time especially in the riany season when footing is wet and slippery. Demand satisfied within communities begins to level off after a particular tank size. The size can be different for different locations and uses. Look out for the next blog post which will detail a few of the many aspects taken into account when sizing tanks!