This study is motivated by the need to develop effective and economically feasible water supply alternatives for developing regions through rainwater harvesting. This study focuses on the monitoring of roof-harvested rainwater quality for small-scale (household) applications. In the study, the concentrations of selected contaminants are monitored over an extended period of storage time to track compliance with drinking water standards over time. An attempt is made to provide recommendations for rainwater storage. This paper follows a previous study that focused on the analysis of roof-harvested rainwater (Nzewi, Sarikonda and Lee, 2010). In this study, several contaminants that could be found in roof-harvested rainwater were monitored (for changes in concentration) over a period of about 30 days. The goals are (i) to determine if there is significant variation in contaminant concentration and water characteristics over extended periods of storage; (ii) to determine the implications of any changes in water characteristics (quality) in the development of roof-water concentration and water storage technologies. The results of the study could provide guidelines for rainwater harvesting and harvested rainwater storage; and the design and selection of storage systems.
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