Potential to capture rainwater for supply: The case of the city of Belém (Pará State, Brazil)

Authors

  • Rafael Almeida Flores Universidade Federal do Pará
  • Ronaldo Lopes Rodrigues Mendes Universidade Federal do Pará
  • Dênio Ramam Carvalho de Oliveira Universidade Federal do Pará
  • Tony Carlos Dias da Costa Universidade Federal do Pará
  • Nircele da Silva Leal Veloso Instituto Federal do Pará

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/3373

Abstract

Despite the wealth of water resources in the Amazon region, the city of Belém is highly deficient in public water supply. Usage of rainwater has potential to be an alternative in the region. This study aims to defi ne the potential for domestic use of rainwater in the city of Belém. The method is based on quantifying the rainfall and the water demand in the city, as well as identifying statistically defi ned catchment areas. The average monthly rainfall varies from 111 to 450 mm. Water consumption is estimated between 222 and 260 liters/person/day. The roof areas considered range from 35 to 550 m2. The results demonstrate that at least 18% of the population (about 200.000 people) and at most 37% (about 420.000 people) could be supplied with rain water. Therefore, rainwater has the potential to remedy the shortage of supply of the city of Belém.

Key words: rainwater, water supply, Belém, Amazon.

Author Biographies

Rafael Almeida Flores, Universidade Federal do Pará

Ronaldo Lopes Rodrigues Mendes, Universidade Federal do Pará

Dênio Ramam Carvalho de Oliveira, Universidade Federal do Pará

Tony Carlos Dias da Costa, Universidade Federal do Pará

Nircele da Silva Leal Veloso, Instituto Federal do Pará

Downloads

Published

2013-03-19

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2012): jul-dec

Section

Article

License

I grant the journal Estudos Tecnológicos the first publication of my article, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license (which allows sharing of work, recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal).

I confirm that my article is not being submitted to another publication and has not been published in its entirely on another journal. I take full responsibility for its originality and I will also claim responsibility for charges from claims by third parties concerning the authorship of the article.

I also agree that the manuscript will be submitted according to the journal’s publication rules described above.