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International Symposium on Water in Environment

WINEC 2017: Water Management and the Environment: Case Studies pp 43–63Cite as

The Impact of Rainwater Harvesting System Location on Their Financial Efficiency: A Case Study in Poland

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Part of the book series: Water Science and Technology Library ((WSTL,volume 86))

Abstract

Natural water resources of Poland are among the lowest in Europe. In addition, the intensive development of urbanized areas and the associated increase in water demand necessitate the need to look for alternative sources. However, limiting the amount of resources available for use does not go hand in hand with the development of ecological awareness of society, which has the greatest attention still attached to the financial criterion. Considering this, the studies have been conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of the rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) in a single-family house located in selected Polish cities where rainfall varies in height. Financial analysis for four different variants of the water supply system in the building in question has been done using the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Methodology. The results show that RWHS financial performance varies widely, but it has also been found that the variant in which rainwater will be used to flush toilets, wash, and water the garden is characterized by the lowest LCC costs irrespective of tank capacity, number of users, and the location of RWHS system. The study also examines the impact of the capacity of the rainwater storage tank on the tap water savings. Depending on the installation variant these savings ranged from 11– 40% for Zakopane, 10–25% for Warsaw and Katowice, and 10–28% for Koszalin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infrastructure and Water Management, The Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, al. Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland

    Agnieszka Stec & Daniel Słyś

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  1. Agnieszka Stec
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  2. Daniel Słyś
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Correspondence to Agnieszka Stec .

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  1. Technical University of Košice, Košice, Slovakia

    Martina Zelenakova

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Stec, A., Słyś, D. (2018). The Impact of Rainwater Harvesting System Location on Their Financial Efficiency: A Case Study in Poland. In: Zelenakova, M. (eds) Water Management and the Environment: Case Studies. WINEC 2017. Water Science and Technology Library, vol 86. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79014-5_3

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