arid and semi-arid catchments

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Rainwater Harvesting To Alleviate Water Scarcity In Dry Conditions: a Case Study In Faria Catchment, Palestine

Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
Water Science and Engineering, 2010, 3(2): 132-143 doi:10.3882/j.issn.1674-2370.2010.02.002
Year of Publication: 
2010
Authors: 
Sameer Shadeed
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus. Palestine
Current Affiliation: 
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus. Palestine
Jens Lange
Institute of Hydrology, University of Freiburg, P. O. Box 79098, Freiburg, Germany
Preferred Abstract (Original): 
In arid and semi-arid regions, the availability of adequate water of appropriate quality has become a limiting factor for development. This paper aims to evaluate the potential for rainwater harvesting in the arid to semi-arid Faria Catchment, in the West Bank, Palestine. Under current conditions, the supply-demand gap is increasing due to the increasing water demands of a growing population with hydrologically limited and uncertain supplies. By 2015, the gap is estimated to reach 4.5 × 106 m3. This study used the process-oriented and physically-based TRAIN-ZIN model to evaluate two different rainwater harvesting techniques during two rainfall events. The analysis shows that there is a theoretical potential for harvesting an additional 4 × 106 m3 of surface water over the entire catchment. Thus, it is essential to manage the potential available surface water supplies in the catchment to save water for dry periods when the supply-demand gap is comparatively high. Then a valuable contribution to bridging the supply-demand gap can be made.
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