Rainwater harvesting potential and water use efficiency in urban areas: a case study of South Delhi District
Student name: Ms Rhythm Khurana
Guide: Dr Sukanya Das
Year of completion: 2018
Host Organisation: TERI School of Advanced Studies
Abstract: Water is a key resource necessary for human survival on the planet. Rapid population growth coupled with massive urbanization has led to excessive usage and degrading quality of both the surface water as well as groundwater resources in developing countries like India. The capital city of India, Delhi constituted as the second most water stressed city in the world in the year 2014 by agency named Nature Conservancy. The South and South West districts are at relative disadvantage in terms of water supply and with a relative advantage of geographical endowment of enormous aquifer recharge hold immense potential to augment groundwater resources through rainwater harvesting adoption at scale. With most of the studies examining the adoption of water conservation methods in the rural areas, this study explores the stream of factors affecting urban households’ decision to adopt rainwater harvesting. Using survey data of 100 households, we identify the driving factors of rainwater harvesting adoption using the binary logit and logistic regression models of a households’ probability of investing in rainwater harvesting systems. In terms of socioeconomic factors, the study finds that education level and residential plot size have a positive and significant impact on the households’ decision to adopt rainwater harvesting. In terms of attitude and policy, the study finds that households holding a positive perception towards water bill rebate policy have a higher probability to invest in rainwater harvesting methods. So, efforts should be made by the Delhi government to conduct rebate programs and make the citizens increasingly aware and involved in their initiatives to encourage rainwater harvesting adoption.
