Abstract:
Famine and environmental degradation in Ethiopia have been mostly caused by extreme
rainfall variability. Rainwater harvesting is a technique that has been used for many years
to address these problems. The best locations and rainwater harvesting methods have been
determined by researchers using many different approaches. However, the performance
assessment of rainwater harvesting structures has received very little attention. The purpose
of this study was to evaluate the engineering performance of existing community ponds,
the suitability of existing community rainwater harvesting locations and the economic
viability of existing community pond water harvesting technologies. In the study area, six
functional rainwater harvesting ponds were selected. To evaluate the technical performance
of community pond water harvesting technologies, primary and secondary data was
gathered and evaluated using descriptive statistics. This was done through direct
measurements and interview with community experts. The performance of the community
pond RWH system was evaluated by technical performance evaluation criteria, The result
shows that the study's average runoff harvesting and system efficiency were 0.099 and
0.059, respectively, the values are very small and the ponds collect only small amount of
runoff generated. Water saving efficiency with a mean value of 1.1 indicated that a given
Pond's storages were insufficient to supply the expected demand within a given time. Four
criteria (soil texture, soil depth, and slope) were used to evaluate suitability of existing site
for community pond water harvesting technology using analytical hierarchy process. Based
on the suitability criteria selected, 33 % of the sites scored 1 (very low suitability), 50 %
of the sites scored 2 (low suitability), and 17% of the pond scored 3 (medium suitability).
Suitability of RWH design was improved by choosing appropriate locations. An economic
viability analysis of existing RWH ponds was assessed to determine their long-term
viability through net present worth, cost-benefit analysis, and payback period. The result
showed that 83% of the pond scored benefit-cost ratio of greater than one, net present worth
value of greater than zero, and payback period of less than the service life of the ponds.
Only 17% of the ponds scored a benefit-cost ratio of less than one, an net present worth
value of less than zero, and a payback period of 13 years. This indicates that most of the
studied area's existing ponds in the study area were economically viable.
Keywords: Rainwater Harvesting, Cost-benefit, Arc-Gis, AHP, CWR