Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2007.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cresti, Daria
Other Authors: Peter Shanahan.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38941
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author Cresti, Daria
author2 Peter Shanahan.
author_facet Peter Shanahan.
Cresti, Daria
author_sort Cresti, Daria
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description Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2007.
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spelling mit-1721.1/389412019-04-10T15:49:30Z Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda Cresti, Daria Peter Shanahan. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-105). The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) contacted MIT in September 2006 for technical assistance to analyze the water-supply potential within the Bisate Sector, Musanze District, Rwanda. The present study focuses on designing low-cost household rainwater catchment systems to improve the quantity and quality of water available and therefore achieve higher standards of living for the Bisate village. Given the climatic and geographic characteristics of Bisate, rainwater harvesting represents one of the most appropriate solutions to improve water supply. The designed low-cost household rainwater catchment system consists of an excavated cistern of 6 cubic meters volume, lined with a plastic tarpaulin sheet and covered with a wood and iron lid, and with a hand pump to extract water. The cistern should provide an average of 16 liters/day/person for the entire year for medium-size houses (roof area of 35 m2) and 21.5 liters/day/person for large-size houses (82 m2). The excavated cistern is designed with walls to stop surface runoff from entering into the cistern, and a hard cover and hand pump to extract water and minimize water contamination from faecal bacteria. The implementation of these small-scale rainwater harvesting systems should improve water quality and supply for the families of Bisate Village. (cont.) Indeed, household rainwater catchment systems should improve water consumption from less than 5 liters/day/person to at least 16 liters/day/person. The household rainwater catchment system can provide water inside or nearby the house, which is very important as it would drastically reduce travel time for women and children to fetch water. Freeing up time from daily "water walks" could significantly improve school attendance and trade activities, leading to increased education levels and average annual income. by Daria Cresti. M.Eng. 2007-09-28T13:15:21Z 2007-09-28T13:15:21Z 2007 2007 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38941 166268721 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 113 leaves application/pdf f-rw--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Cresti, Daria
Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title_full Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title_fullStr Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title_full_unstemmed Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title_short Analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural Rwanda
title_sort analysis and design of household rainwater catchment systems for rural rwanda
topic Civil and Environmental Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38941
work_keys_str_mv AT crestidaria analysisanddesignofhouseholdrainwatercatchmentsystemsforruralrwanda