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Filtration of Rainwater Harvesting System in

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Article in Journal of Engineering Science and Technology April 2017

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Filtration of Rainwater Harvesting System in Rural

Area
Sharifah Faizah Wan Johor, Siti Halipah Ibrahim, Khatijah Yaman, Rasidah Abd. Wahab and Mohd Nasrun
Mohd Nawi
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Date Received:
Date Published:

Abstract - This study focuses on the performance of rainwater harvesting filtration system for rural areas. The issue of mosquito breeding
in rainwater storage tanks often occurs and this is causing dengue. This issue usually occurs due to improper rainwater harvesting system.
Majority people in rural areas do not approach a proper rainwater harvesting design. In order to design a proper rainwater harvesting system,
filter should be installed in the system. Filtration can be used as an alternative method to prevent the larvae mosquitoes from entering the
storage tanks and improve the water quality of rainwater. In this study, methodology includes four samples with different rainwater
harvesting method. Each samples have three results that taken from different days to evaluate the rainwater quality in storage tanks. Non
woven geotextile fabrics were used as a filter fabric and tested using larvae mosquitoes either those larvae passing through the filter fabric
or not. Besides that, a few parameters such as water temperature, pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen (DO) are determined to evaluate the
performance of water quality after filtration. Water quality of samples is compared with Drinking Water Quality Standard (DWQS), World
Health Organization (WHO) and National Water Quality Standard. From the results obtained, the parameters such as water temperature, pH,
turbidity and dissolved oxygen (DO) show the improvement after the filtration process and fulfill the water quality standards. Filter also has
been tested with larvae mosquitoes for few times and it proved that the all the larvae does not pass through the filter fabric. Overall, the
quality of rainwater acceptance and the uses of filter in rainwater harvesting system is a must to get a good quality of rainwater.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, filtration, non-woven, larvae mosquitoes, water quality

I. INTRODUCTION

AINWATER becomes an important source of water supply in rural areas. The demand of rain water supply increases due
R to the limited access towards clean water and the rapid urban growth causes the number population also increase and
impact demands on water supply. Rainwater harvesting system has been practiced in Malaysia especially in rural areas
since long times ago. The government provides a tank for each of houses in rural areas where it use for rainwater storage
system. RM 100 million was spent for the supply of 40,000 water tanks to harvest rainwater which is particularly in rural areas
in Sabah and Sarawak [1].

Unfortunately, due to lacking of knowledge and information, the use of rainwater harvesting system caused other problems
to the community. The water quality of rainwater is decreasing due to improper design of rainwater harvesting system and lack
of maintenance. Majority community in rural areas does not have any proper design for rainwater harvesting system. They
usually placed the tank outside their house to collect the rainwater. Open storage tank can effects the water quality of rainwater
and cause breeding mosquitoes.

In rural area of Bangladesh, the community had been for rainwater storage since 1989 and during 2002 the national dengue
outbreak was happen in Bangladesh. National survey in dengue cases had been done and it shows that this community has
suffered earlier as well [2]. According to Mwami [3], gutters in developing countries are often weak link in the rainwater
harvesting system and installations can be seen with gutters coming away from their mountings, leaking at joints or even
sloping the wrong way. Some of failure guttering may cause a health hazard if it allows water to remain in the gutter and
become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Figure 1 shows how the people in rural areas design their own rainwater storage system. It shows the improper
rainwater harvesting design where the recycled material which is white container is used to collect the rainwater and rainwater
flow to the storage tank by using small PVC pipe.

1
 Improper design of
rainwater
harvesting system

Figure 1 Rainwater harvesting system in rural area (Kampung Jaya Ria, Serian)

This design can be classified as incorrectly design because;

i) The open collection of rainwater can cause the breeding of mosquitoes and reduces the quality of water
where debris, dirt or dust can fall into it.
ii) The PVC pipe that used in rainwater harvesting system also too small and cause wasting of rainwater and
reduce the quantity of rainwater in storage tank.
iii) Even the storage tank is covered but the design of tanks lid itself can stagnant rainwater and cause the
breeding of mosquitoes.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have three basic components which are catchment area (roofing, gutter); filtering
system; and storage tank [4]. These components are important in order to design a proper harvesting system and have a better
quality of rainwater and prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

Roof is commonly use as catchment for water rainwater harvesting system. The material of roof should be considered when
designing a rainwater catchment system .This is because it affects the quality of the harvested rainwater which invariably
affects the usage as potable or non potable [5]. Normally, zinc is the roofing material for most houses in rural areas. The
characteristics of zinc itself make it popular and effective as catchment areas. Zheng et al., [6] has mentioned that zinc is
maintenance free, have a long life span and easily to install. Zinc also give an excellent resistance of zinc to corrosion and
favorable micro environment around zinc sheeting [6].

Besides roof, gutter also one of the components in catchment area. Gutter is used to transport rainwater from the roof to the
storage tank and it comes from variety of shapes and materials [7]. Gutters should be fall continuously to downpipes to prevent
pooling of water that can caused the increase accumulation of material, lead to algal growth and provide a place for mosquito
breeding [8]. According to Mwami [3] lack of maintenance and improperly design inhibits the performance of a rainwater
catchment system. He also mentioned the adequate slope for entire system can damage gutters and attract mosquitoes.

Rainwater collected from catchment area (roof, gutter) usually contaminated with dirt, leaves, plant debris, silt and other
unwanted matter. Due to this condition, rainwater should be filtered before stored in the storage tank. Filtration can reduced
the contaminants as well as prevent the larva eggs and avoid mosquito breeding from entering the storage tank. Filter is such
an important component in rainwater harvesting storage system to keep the quality of rainwater. Thus, the education in
filtration should be given to the community in rural areas to make sure they can practice and apply those methods in rainwater
harvesting system. There are many types of techniques to filter rainwater and geotextile fabric is one of an example that can
be used in filtration of rainwater. Geotextiles are divided with two categories which are woven and non-woven. Woven fibers
are used in separation and stabilization applications while non-woven fabrics are generally for areas needing increased filtration
[9]. The non-woven fabric has better filtration efficiency than woven filter fabric at lower flow rates. Woven fabric also takes
more time for filtration than non-woven fabric [10].

Storage tank is used for collected rainwater and may be located either above or below the ground [11]. Srinivas [11] also
mentioned about the various types of storage tank such as reinforced concrete, fiberglass, polyethylene, stainless steel, Ferro-
cement and jars made from mortar or earthen materials. However, plastic tank is more efficient and popular in developed
countries. It made from HDPE or GRP. Even nowadays, HDPE tanks still in the top of ranks because the characteristic of this
tanks which is lightweight and sustainable. Polyethylene or HDPE is an alternative storage tank use in rainwater harvesting
system due to its characteristics has a large storage capacity, easy to clean and have many openings which can fit the connection
pipes [11].

2
 Meanwhile, rainwater tanks can provide excellent habitats for mosquito breeding [12] and identifies as potential breeding
sites for vector dengue virus. The presence of mosquito larvae detected in rainwater tanks due to an opening through which
female mosquitoes can enter and lay eggs in ponded water collected in roof gutters [12]. Mosquito basically live in streams,
ponds, puddles or any other place that has water [13]. Any water source has a potential for breeding of mosquito. Some
precaution should be taken in designing rainwater harvesting storage systems. The study on rainwater harvesting in Nova
Scotia, Canada and Bermuda, stated that if the storage tank is not covered, open storage may provide a breeding place for
mosquitoes [14].

The quality of the rainwater can vary depending on the atmospheric pollution and storage method [2]. Pathak et al.,
[2] also mentioned some of the rainwater catchment systems are open to environmental hazards due to nature of catchment
area. In addition, chemical contamination might dissolve during precipitation and leach because the components characteristic
of rainwater harvesting system. Poor collection, storage design and other factors such as bird dropping can caused the microbial
risks. In addition, the quality of rainwater can be degraded and may lead to potential health risks due chemical and
microbiological factors. Basically, the main concern on the quality of harvested is in rural areas where they usually use the
rainwater for drinking and cooking without checking on the quality of the rainwater. Drinking water guidelines were first
published as International Standards in 1958 [15]. There are few of water quality guidelines such as World Health Organization
(WHO), Drinking Water Quality Standard (DWQS) and National Drinking Water Standard (NWQS).

III. METHODOLOGY
Data Collection Methods

Four (4) samples of rainwater are collected with four (4) different harvesting storage tanks. The parameters of rainwater
quality are determined before filtration and after filtration to identify the changes of rainwater quality for each sample. The
results had taken for three times in different day. Each four samples have three results recorded with different day to determine
the results obtained are consistence and evaluate the performance of rainwater quality in storage tanks.

All the parameters such as (1) water temperature, (2) pH, (3) turbidity and (4) dissolved oxygen had been done on site to
get accurate results obtained from this study. In addition, the larvae mosquitoes also tested on the filter fabric in order to
evaluate the performance of filter either the larvae can be filter by the nonwoven fabric or not. Table 1 shows the types of
rainwater collected for this study.

Table 1 Rainwater samples collected

Samples Description

Rainwater sample is collected in a closed

Sample 1 storage tank and the rainwater is from
catchment area (roof) and flow directly from
gutter to the storage tank.

Rainwater sample is collected from an open tank

where the rainwater falls directly into the tank
Sample 2 without any rainwater harvesting system
components for an example catchment area. The
figure shows that rainwater clearly looks
contaminated by dust, leaf etc

Sample 3 Rainwater sample is collected from an open

tank and zinc is used as a gutter. Larvae
mosquitoes are found during sample collection.

Rainwater sample is collected from an open

Sample 4 tank. This tank is located near with tree/plants.

3
 The concept of filtration is designed based on previous study by Vieira et al., [16] and design using PVC pipe which diameter
2.5 inch. The filtration concept (Figure 2) allowing rainwater from the gutter to enters the inlet pipe and passes through the
non-woven fabric then flow to the treated water outlet (storage tank). The treated water will directly wash the non-woven filter
when the pressure of rainwater becomes low and water flow in downpipe. Then, the valve outlet is designed to drain out the
untreated rainwater after the pressure of rainwater becomes lower and cannot enter the treated water outlet. Valve outlet must
be opened manually after the rain stops. The filter fabric is using TS20 nonwoven fabrics (TenCate Polyfelt).

On the previous study, the magnetic backwash valve is designed to open and close valve automatically without any
equipment to drain out untreated rainwater. This backwash works by considering the hydraulic pressure of water level from
storage tank [16]. However, this study using manual valve to drain out because the storage tank provided by government has
high capacity water and magnetic backwash valve is not practical to apply in this study.

Water
inlet pipe

Treated
water outlet

Filter fabrics

Valve outlet

Figure 2 Rainwater Harvesting Filtration

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A few observations were carried out on larvae mosquitoes in order to determine the performance of non-woven geotextiles
to filter larvae mosquitoes. The tests on larvae mosquitoes had been done for many times with different larvae mosquitoes that
found in storage tanks to make sure either larvae can passing through the filter or not.

After the filtration of larvae, the result shows that the rainwater is free from the larvae which mean the larvae cannot passes
through the non-woven fabric. Figure 3 shows before and after rainwater after filtration using non-woven fabric.

Before Filtration After Filtration

Figure 3 Before and after filtration of rainwater on larvae mosquitoes

Data Analysis and Discussion

4
 As shown in Figure 4, the water temperature decreased after the filtration process. The changes of water temperature can be
related with microorganisms (bacteria) growth in rainwater. Water temperatures of rainwater were decreased after filtration
due to the reduction of total organic during the filtration.

In term of bacteria growth, the decreasing of temperature means reduction of bacteria growth in rainwater. The water
temperatures obtained in this study are in range of 28C to 34C where that water temperature 20C above can enhance the
growth of microorganisms in rainwater [17].
Water Temperature (C)

40
35
30
25
20 Before Filtration
15
After Filtration
10
5
0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4

Figure 4 Data on Water Temperature

Abbott et al., [18], bacterial growth may occur when water in rainwater storage tanks is dirty and the bacteria have sufficient
nutrients to multiply in the tanks. They also mentioned that bacteria require high temperature for re-growth especially countries
with warm climates. In Malaysia, the bacteria can growth in storage tank as the country is warm climates and storage tank also
placed outside the house and these lead re-growth bacteria occurs rapidly.

From the pH data in Figure 5, some of samples such as sample 1, sample 2 and sample 3 achieve the standard of rainwater
quality which is pH above 6.5l. The changes in pH commonly due to the amount of metals content in rain water. Metals usually
come from the catchment areas such as roof. Filtration can prevent or reduce metals for an example copper, iron, lead and zinc
from passing through into the pipes [19].

In addition, the result shows the improvement even though not all pH result achieves the rainwater quality standard which
is in range 6.5 to 9.0 for Drinking Water Quality Standard and 6.5 to 8.5 for World Health Organization.

7 pH range DWQS =
6 6.5-9.0
pH range WHO
5
= 6.5-8.5
4
pH

3
2 Before Filtration
1 After Filtration
0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4

Figure 5 Data on pH

The turbidity levels before and after being filtered through non-woven fabric was taken and recorded. The result of turbidity
analysis shows in Figure 6 decrease after filtration. Based on Drinking Water Quality Standard and World Health Organization,
turbidity must be below 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). From the result turbidity recorded, all samples still below 5
NTU and after filtration the turbidity decreasing. However, ideally turbidity is below than 1NTU [20].

5
 4
3.5
3
2.5

Turbidity (NTU)
2 Before Filtration
1.5 After Filtration
1
0.5
0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4

Figure 6 Data on Turbidity

As shown in Figure 7, dissolved oxygen results indicate the improvement of rainwater quality after filtration. Dissolved
oxygen (DO) values were increasing for all samples after filtration and meet the water quality standards.

9
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

8
7
6
5 Before Filtration
4
3 After Filtration
2
1
0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4

Figure 7 Data on Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

The increasing of dissolved oxygen in rainwater shows the reduction of bacteria/microorganism in rainwater. Temperature
is one of the factors that can drop the concentration of dissolved oxygen. Nutrient in rainwater are food for algae and rainwater
with high amount of nutrients can produce algae in large quantities. When the algae die, bacteria decompose them and use up
oxygen in rainwater [21]. Bacteria also need oxygen to live in rainwater. Because of this matter, dissolved oxygen in rainwater
becomes decrease.

V. CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, filtration has proved it can solve the breeding mosquitos problem and improve the quality of rainwater.
Even though not all parameters can be done, but based on the results and analysis, it concluded that the non-woven geotextiles
fabrics can be used as filter in rainwater harvesting system and improve the quality of rainwater. The larvae also cannot pass
through the filter and it can prevent the larvae from entering the storage tank. Filtration process effective to filter larvae
mosquitoes and contaminants before rainwater enter the storage tank. The characteristics of the filtration concept designed are
easy to conduct and give benefits to the user compare with the rainwater harvesting system without any filtration process.
Besides that, the filtration concept with low maintenance requirement, no energy required and it does not affect the
environment.

In addition, community especially in rural areas must learn and gain more knowledge about filtration system and how to
properly design their rainwater harvesting system. This education can be given to community by campaign or talk so that they
can realize the importance of designing proper rainwater harvesting system. Further research on the filtration concept should
be carried out by using other types of filter fabrics. Other than that, evaluate the performance on site with full scale of rainwater
harvesting systems.

6
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