On-site rainwater harvesting to achieve household water security among rural and peri-urban communities in Jordan

This paper presents the experience of Mercy Corps’ “Community Based Initiatives for Water Demand Management” project, a five year project (2006–2011), in terms of community-based initiatives for water management. This project was designed to build the capacity of local community-based organizations (CBOs) to raise the awareness level around water demand management (WDM) and engage community members in water management measures. It showed how local solutions decrease the reliance on public water systems and ultimately help in facing the water shortage on a national level. This paper also showed that on-site rainwater harvesting Cisterns funded through this project have been able to harvest 88,335 m3 annually. The paper found that rainwater harvesting at household level was able to save an average of 24% in potable water per year.

► The article shows how local solutions decrease the reliance on public water systems and helps face the water shortage.
► On-site rainwater harvesting Cisterns have been able to harvest 86,130 m3 annually.
► Beneficiaries from this project were able to save 26% in their portable water annually through rainwater harvesting.