Assessment of Rainwater Harvesting Potential in Ibadan, Nigeria

Recently Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria has been facing severe water shortage due to the increase of population, social and economic activities. In order to meet the shortfall, attempts to utilize rainwater harvesting (RWH) have been made to provide an alternative source of water supply. A desk study was conducted to review various RWH technologies locally, regionally and globally. A hydrological analysis was also carried out using rainfall data for 30 years from two meteorological stations, with the aim of providing a more sustainable RWH system for water supply to private individuals, organizations, and government agencies. RWH is found to be technically feasible based on the prevailing rainfall pattern with over 90% of households having a rooftop constructed from technically appropriate materials. Results of the study indicate that an average roof of $80m^2$ will collect 82,835 L/yr (45 L/person/day) for a family of five people which is about the required water demand for drinking and cooking purposes. Hence, the capacity of storage tanks and the catchment area required for an all-purpose water supply system based on RWH are quite large. These can be reduced to affordable sizes, by collecting and storing water for cooking and drinking only while non-potable uses are supplemented by water from other sources. However, it must be highlighted that due to the type of roofing material, rainwater should go through proper treatment in order to be used for potable purposes. This study clearly shows that Ibadan city has a good rainwater harvesting potential.