Abstract
This study assessed the performance of rainwater-harvesting systems installed for selected public utilities in the northern provinces of Vietnam where rainwater was collected, stored in stainless steel tanks, and treated with a complex filtration unit and Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system (full system). Results from an operation of over 5 years show that the untreated rainwater could not be used directly for drinking purposes as it was contaminated with bacteria (total coliforms TC = 200–300 CFU/100 ml, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA = 40–160 CFU/100 ml), and turbidity = 2–4 NTU. Most of the heavy metals detected were found below the standard limits. Phenol and its derivatives were detected occasionally as higher than the standard value (1 μg/L). After treatment, all parameters met the drinking water standards. The capital costs of the rainwater systems were approximately US$200/m3 and US$180/m3 for a full system and simplified system (without complex filtration unit), respectively, while the operation and maintenance (O&M) costs were 3 cents/L and 0.8 cents/L on average for a full system and simplified one, correspondingly.
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Abbreviations
- As:
-
Arsenic
- BOD:
-
Biological oxygen demand
- Cd:
-
Cadmium
- CFU:
-
Bacterial colony counts
- E. coli :
-
Escherichia coli
- Fe:
-
Iron
- NTU:
-
Nephelometric turbidity unit
- Hg:
-
Mercury
- Mn:
-
Manganese
- MPN:
-
Most probably number
- Ni:
-
Nickel
- NTU:
-
Nephelometric unit
- Pb:
-
Lead
- SDG:
-
Sustainable development goals
- Se:
-
Selenium
- RW:
-
Rainwater
- RWH:
-
Rainwater harvesting
- TC:
-
Total coliforms
- TDS:
-
Total dissolved solid
- TSS:
-
Total suspended solids
- UV:
-
Ultraviolet
- TCU:
-
Transmission control unit
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
- Zn:
-
Zinc
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express high acknowledgment for the financial support of the Project “Water And Sanitation Appropriate Technology Center for SDG 6 solution (WASAT Center)” jointly provided by the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (IESE), National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE), and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University (SNU), Korea, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea.
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Tran, S.H., Dang, H.T., Dao, D.A. et al. On-site rainwater harvesting and treatment for drinking water supply: assessment of cost and technical issues. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 11928–11941 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07977-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07977-0